This week’s person of interest is the on-track Holmatro Safety Team at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Indy racing is a dangerous sport so this team of safety personnel, at least 18 of which are present at every event, is tasked with providing emergency medical care to both spectators and race participants alike. During every race, the Holmatro Safety Team includes a minimum of one trauma physician, one orthopedic physician, two paramedics, two RNs and twelve firefighters/EMTs.
On May 19th of this year, the Holmatro Safety Team saved the life of IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliff was involved in an extraordinarily violent crash that resulted in life-threatening injuries to his legs. The steel wishbone of his car’s front rocker panel entered and exited his right leg before piercing his left thigh and lodging in his pelvic region.
As a result of these injuries, Hinchcliffe lost a significant amount of blood.
After being treated and stabilized by the Holmatro Safety Team, who had to cut the wishbone from the chassis in order to extract Hinchcliffe from his vehicle, he was taken by ambulance to Indiana University Methodist Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to stop the bleeding.
In a statement released by IndyCar, Hinchcliffe expressed his gratitude for the safety team. “Those guys, in addition to the doctors and staff at the hospital, are my heroes.”
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