Alex Zanardi, former Formula One racer, in coma after horrific handbike crash

A former race car champ is fighting for his life.

Italian driving great Alex Zanardi is in a medically induced coma after colliding with a truck during a handbike race in Italy on Friday, The Associated Press reported.

The 53-year-old CART series and Formula One driver is currently on a ventilator while his neurological status “remains serious,” announced the Siena hospital where he’s receiving treatment.

“The condition of Alex Zanardi is serious but stable,” said Santa Maria alle Scotte Dr. Giuseppe Olivieri on Saturday. “He arrived here with a major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face and a deeply fractured frontal bone. The numbers are good, although it remains a very serious situation.”

Zanardi had both legs amputated after a horrific 2001 racing crash in Brandenburg, Germany. Despite losing three-quarters of his blood, he survived the collision thanks to the quick response of medical technicians.

After his Friday accident near the northern Italian town of Pienza on Friday, Zanardi was choppered to the Siena hospital nearly 35 miles away.

“The situation is clearly critical in terms of brain damage,” warned hospital director Sabino Scolletta.

Grisly video footage of the crash aftermath showed the athlete’s recumbent bike strewn on the edge of the road lying on its side.

The truck driver involved in the crash tested negative for drugs and alcohol, according to The AP.

“The truck didn’t make a mistake,” said coach Mario Valentini, who was watching the race. “Alex made the mistake.”

After Zanardi’s double amputation, he began designing his own prosthetics while relearning to walk, according to The AP. Shifting to hand-cycling, he became one of the sport’s most prominent stars, snagging four gold medals and two silver ones at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games.

In 2011, he won the handbike division of the New York City Marathon. Three years later, he completed the Ironman World Championship, finishing 19th out of 247 competitors in his age class, according to reports.