INDIANAPOLIS — Rookie driver Alex Lloyd didn’t break any bones in a hard crash during practice for the Indianapolis 500 that left him hospitalized.
Lloyd was taken off the track Friday complaining of neck pain. Though a CT scan showed no broken bones, he was kept at the hospital as a precaution.
Another accident Friday occurred in the pits, where Dale Coyne Racing crewman Charles Buckman was knocked to the ground by the front wing of Danica Patrick’s car as she drove into her pit. Buckman, who was walking through the pits, was taken to the hospital with a concussion and cuts to his face and scalp.
He was initially unconscious after being hit, but regained consciousness before being transported to Methodist Hospital.
“I really don’t remember how it happened,” Buckman said. “All I remember was talking with someone on (Patrick teammate) Marco Andretti’s team and then everything is blank from that point. I will be OK and hopefully back to work in a day or two.”
Patrick, who drives for Andretti Green Racing, did not talk about the accident other than to say, “What happened today was very unfortunate, but what is most important to me is that Chuck is going to be OK.”
There was also a minor crash involving rookie Mario Dominguez of Mexico, who was not hurt when his car tapped the inside wall at slow speed in the warmup lane. Dominguez was examined at the track hospital and cleared to drive.
Lloyd, the champion last season in the IRL’s developmental Indy Lights Series, completed a lap at more than 223 mph and lost control of his Dallara in the first turn. He struck the outside wall with the rear of the car and continued into the second turn.
The 23-year-old Englishman was examined at the track’s infield hospital, then taken to Methodist for further tests.
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