A legend of Brazilian and world sports left us exactly 30 years ago. On May 1, 1994, Ayrton Senna died after suffering an accident during the San Marino Formula 1 Grand Prix. The fateful day when the pilot lost his life was marked in the memory of millions of people, among them, one of the doctors who helped him, Alessandro Misley. The professional recalled that sad Sunday and gave details about the service provided to the Brazilian idol, still on the track.
“Unfortunately, the situation soon turned dramatic, because Ayrton had injuries to his head, neck and skull base. Instantly, he was knocked unconscious. Vital signs were altered. All the conditions did not indicate anything good. Blood had come out of his mouth and nose, and unfortunately there was brain matter (scattered). Even so, we made several attempts at aspiration, ventilation and oxygenation”, revealed Alessandro Misley, in an interview with the website “Uol”.
See Ayrton Senna’s photo gallery below:
After the initial rescue at the San Marino circuit, Ayrton Senna was taken by helicopter to the Maggiore hospital, located in Bologna, Italy. Despite medical efforts, the pilot eventually succumbed to his injuries and died shortly after.
At the time of the accident, many attributed Senna’s death to the fact that he had been hit in the head by a suspension bar from the Williams, which detached from the car at the time of the collision. Dr. Milsley confirms that the object really hit Ayrton’s head, but the professional is blunt in saying that this fact did not cause the driver’s death.
“Absolutely not. It’s false. In fact, a piece of the suspension entered the helmet and caused a frontal injury of a few centimeters, which, of course, is not innocuous. But, of course, that wasn’t the problem that caused Senna’s death. Senna’s death was caused by a fractured skull base due to the strong impact caused by the deceleration. Suspension bar injury is secondary and non-lethal. (If it was just her), Senna would be alive,” said the doctor.
Alessandro Misley also argues that if there had been the same devices in the 1990s that exist today, to protect the driver’s head in the car, the result of the accident that killed Senna could have been different. Today, Formula 1 cars use the system called HANS (short for Head and Neck Support in Portuguese). Such a system is critical to ensuring the safety of pilots in collisions.
“I’m not saying that (with HANS) nothing would have happened (with Senna), but certainly the impact and damage would have been less,” Dr. Misley concluded.
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