Alex Zanardi seriously injured again in handbike accident

ROME (AP) — Race car driver turned Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi has been seriously injured again.

Police tell The Associated Press that Zanardi was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Siena following a road accident near the Tuscan town of Pienza during a national race for Paralympic athletes on handbikes on Friday.

A Carabinieri police official in Montepulciano said the accident involved a “heavy vehicle” and he believed Zanardi was still alive. The official did not give his name as per local custom.

The 53-year-old Zanardi had both of his legs amputated following a horrific crash during a 2001 CART race in Germany. He was a two-time CART champion.

Zanardi won four gold medals in handbike at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics.

The Italian Olympic and Paralympic Committees had no immediate comment.