A car racing team whose injured driver was rescued by another competitor after a horrific crash in Shanghai on Saturday has called the organizers “grossly negligent in the safety response” and said it is withdrawing from future events in China.
The car of British driver Ollie Millroy exploded into flames in a GT race at the Shanghai International Circuit. And it was another driver, Loek Hartog, who stopped his car and, armed with a fire extinguisher, pulled Millroy out of the burning wreckage.
“I am still alive tonight, entirely thanks to one man. Loek Hartog stopped instantly with no flag marshals or fire crews in sight and risked his own life to get me out of the car,” Millroy wrote on his Instagram account. “I don’t remember anything between 30 seconds before the crash and 1 hour after it, but I will remember his incredible act of bravery for the rest of my life.”
Hartog responded with humility to the praise.
“You have nothing to thank me for,” he said. “I wish to live in a world where this would not be considered as bravery — but as the instinct of others, too. I am so grateful to have been at the place I needed to be.”
According to his Instagram account, Millroy sustained six broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken hand, and a punctured lung. He underwent a four-hour operation in a Shanghai hospital to insert plates and screws into the broken bones. Doctors also inserted a drain line into his abdomen to release gas and fluid leaking from his lung.
Millroy’s team, AAI Motorsports, in a long statement was scathing about the conduct of Chinese organizers.
“The event organizer was grossly negligent in its emergency response and safety rescue arrangements, with serious deficiencies in the rescue response that nearly resulted in a tragedy,” the team wrote.
“Even more outrageously, during the live broadcast of the accident, event staff failed to verify the on-site situation and hastily reported that the driver had left the wrecked vehicle on his own. In fact, the driver of our No. 91 car was pulled out of the burning car by Loek Hartog, driver of the No. 79 car of Phantom Team who risked his own life to carry out the rescue.”
AAI Motorsports called for a “comprehensive investigation” and public disclosure around the accident, track safety, and the emergency response. It said it would withdraw from all GT events in China until its demands were met.
“We will not return until the event organizing committee conducts a comprehensive, independent and transparent investigation into every aspect of the incident, including the failures in the rescue response, and provides our team with an official response.”
In a statement, event organizers apologized for the “incident and the distress” it caused and offered “sincere sympathy” to the injured driver.
But organizers also defended some of the conduct.
“According to our preliminary review, the event’s overall staffing and resources met the standards required for a national-level motorsport event, although there remains room for improvement in detailed operational management,” organizers wrote.
“We will conduct a further review and investigation into the accident and develop more comprehensive plans to address shortcomings in race organization, support arrangements, emergency response, rescue operations and medical services.”
