Added: 2 years ago
From: davepuls
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  • Now THAT'S how you respond to an emergency! The rescue crew is already hopping out of the truck before it even comes to a stop!

  • This was STILL a fatal crash cause a spectator got hit and killed by debrees

  • I was about 12 when this wreck took place and I remember my dad turning the TV off because we all thought Danny O. was dead. Thanks for posting. This is the first time I've seen the whole thing!

  • WTF at first I thought it wasn't really a man sitting there. holy shit

  • I'm so amazed by how Jackie Stewart is completely unfazed by the awful sight of Ongais sitting, almost certainly dead in his car. Awe-inspiring how he survived.

  • @kidnamedchicago Because he witnessed so many of his friends and comrades get killed in f1 races. It isn't like he doesn't care though, he championed for better driver safety. Without Jackie Stewart's drive for better condition many more drivers would have been killed in Indy and F1 races.

  • @Nich1655 he raced in the 1996 race and had a pretty good finish

  • Did he live

  • I was at that race, and was sitting at the end of the 4 th turn and witnessed this crash. It was just

    just as bad seeing it Live. This ended Danny's racing career. The worst that I saw at Indy had to be when Stan Fox hit the 1st turn wall. There was NO CAR left from his seat forward. His legs were dragging on the track and Eddie Cheever's car was air-born over him.

  • Is Spa in Belgium? I would be astonished if medical care, then or now, were up to our standards. While it costs a lot to get sick in the USA, I wouldn't want to be sick or hurt in any other country.

    As for Jackie Stewart, the day he stopped broadcasting was a bad day for the sport. Nobody on TV now is close. Dan Wheldon had potential-he broadcast several races on Versus before losing his life.

  • @musicmandon1 free health care in canada why wouldnt you wanna be sick here, my sister got drunk and fainted outside of our house and my mom heard her moaning and the ambulance came in 15secounds and its been 2years and we didnt pay a cent ;d

  • I'm glad that every year safety regulations get tighter and tighter. I got a good feeling at 0:12 seeing the emergency worker jumping out of the truck before it stops.

  • Hey I was there. I brought some hot-dogs, and marshmellows.

  • The Fire and Safety Crew did a fantastic job with Ongais. The first safety vehicle arrived 3-4 seconds after the car came to a stop. The safety crew at Indy is the best the business. It certainly gives a driver great comfort and confidence in knowing that he or she is well cared for in the event of an accident. There are some 28 Fire and Safety Trucks, and 17 Ambulances...an Infield Medical Facility complete with a Major Trauma Unit, and 2 Helicopters on Stand-by.

  • @thevmanvj woah i never knew any of that, thanks for your informative post :D

  • Comment removed

  • Ahh, just walk it off. Lol. But seriously, incredible crash, very glad he survived

  • Props to that emergency crew. Won't even wait for the truck to stop to jump out!

  • incredible he survived

  • Jackie Stewart!

  • Its 1981 Indy 500.  "Several arm and leg fractures as well as internal injuries were the result." But he survived and raced again.

  • jackies commentary is spot on, wish he replaced MB or DC in formula 1 as they are right up mclarens arses.

  • @XxSiiCkXKiilZxX Ongais actually lived through the accident. And then he raced again.

  • did he die?

  • There was no "360 spin" at the end of the straight before he hit the wall. I was there. I saw the whole thing and his car stopped right directly in front of me. He got very loose on corner entry and then when he corrected it snap spun back with the result being a frontal impact with the wall. The angle of impact was some what more oblique than Gordon Smiley's just a few years later that was nearly in the same spot. Smiley of course did not survive.

  • 1981

  • Safer barriers don't work the same for open wheel as they do cars|trucks...they r not designed for open wheel

  • @sandydavidsnodgrass - I'm sorry but your statement is typical NASCARcentric ignorance. The idea, design and testing was initiated by IMS specifically for Indy cars. I am so very tired of hearing NASCAR safety this, NASCAR safety that. NASCAR has never been at the front of any safety inovation. Had an argument with one fool when he informed me that the HANS device came about after and because of Dale Earnhardt's accident. My first contact with a HANS was in '95. 6yrs. prior to DE's death.

  • @144ADT Unfortunately, Nascar is almost always behind the times when it comes to real safety. It usually takes the death of a star racer to bring about any major changes in safety. Even Fireball Roberts death didn't spark a change. Smokey Yunick got the idea for a fuel cell from an Army helicopter, had one made and tried to run it but France Sr said no. It was another 2 years before he let them finally use a fuel cell in a stock car. They finally did something after Dale's death. About time.

  • @144ADT NASCAR actually didn't have it mandated so that they had to use it. Some drivers used it, some like Dale didn't use it. Dale Sr called it a noose he died because of his choice. Ya NASCAR didn't have it mandated i hate people who blame NASCAR for his death. It was his freaking choice. I started to ramble sorry.

  • @sandydavidsnodgrass "They're not designed for Open Wheel"....That is EXACTLY who they were initially designed for...

  • Serving :: u r an idiot

  • Why is Groundskeeper Willie one of the commentators?

  • @servingthealiens It's Jackie Stewart the 1969, 1971 and 1973 Formula 1 world champion. A very important guy in the history of motorsport. Were it not for him and his campaign for safety in the 1970s, there would have been many more racing fatalities during that time and beyond.

  • @FuzzyBerk That's awesome that he made such a contribution... but I still think he sounds like Groundskeeper Willie.

  • @FuzzyBerk The one thing that started Sir Jackie on his crusade for safety (particularly in F1), was his accident at Spa in 1966, where he was trapped in the car over 25 minutes, as "Av-Gas" filled the tub. Graham Hill ditched his car to help, and had to borrow wrenches from spectator's cars to get the steering wheel off. Then, the ambulance driver lost his way to hospital. When he came to....he found himself on a canvas stretcher..on a concrete floor..littered with cigarette butts.

  • @thevmanvj Indeed I remember him describing that in a F! Racing magazine. Shocking how it used to be for safety. Sir Jackie is definitely a hero whom many racing drivers owe their lives too.

  • jackie stewarts commentary is so good

  • @ripster8675 your a sick bastard

  • @coolguy20000000 THANK YOU

  • Both Jimmy and Jackie, knew their racing inside out.

  • Yes, such a great shame.  R.I.P.

  • dan wheldon R.I.P

  • every time i see this video i still dont know how any one could have live from this sort of crash...

  • did him died?

    (sorry im Swedish!)

  • @iflifegivesyoumelon1 No, he raced again too

  • @iflifegivesyoumelon1 Still alive!

  • The crash is from 1981.

  • Danny was lucky! But, never regained his racing prominence again!

  • did he live???

  • @gcler03 yes he did

  • thankfully they have designed the SAFER barrier so the crashes are cushioned much better now.

  • @DougMcDave Took you enough tries, didn't it?

  • thankfully they have designed the SAFER barrier.

  • thankfully they have designed the SAFR (?) barrier.

  • WTF was jackie doing commentating indy?

  • @NOXXism Getting paid?

  • @NOXXism because hes good at it, dumb ass

  • @NOXXism because hes good at it, dumb ass

  • danny ongais

    In 1981 he had a severe accident in Indy 500, which almost cost his life. Several arm and leg breaks as well as internal injuries were the result. Then in 1985 at the Michigan 500, he spun on the exit of turn two and barrel-rolled down the back straight, during a race which had several crashes throughout its duration.

  • 1:08 - He was SAFE at first! SAFE, I tell you.

  • Jackie Stewart was great!

  • The Snake video opposite is not even worth watching!

  • @neilbee Hmm, possibly the most superfluous post of the hour/day/week/month/year ?

  • @psynrg "superfluous" Now there's a word!!

  • @psynrg you are obviously a stupid fuck. drop dead

  • Watch 'Grand Prix- The Killer Years' and you'll see how much Stewart contributed. Although this isn't F1 of course.

  • @adamsewell92 Saw it recently, was incredible at times.

  • I saw this crash - from the grandstand outside of turn 3 - Ongais did a 360 at the end of the backstretch after pitting the lap before. After the spin he went head on into 3rd turn wall and the car erupted in a gigantic fireball then slid down the short chute and out of sight.

  • @mzera10 I had always wondered how that crash began, since the video only showed what happened after the impact. I too, was there that year just across from you on the inside of turn 3 in the bleachers. I remember seeing a bright flash of fire out of my peripheral vision on my left as I heard a collective gasp from the crowd, and by the time I looked, the car was already gone from view.

  • @mzera10

    People always make jokes about wanting to see some crashes, but when something like this happens, it's probably horrific to see in person.

  • @5jerry1 Depends entirely on your sensibilities. In my experience it's nothing short of awesome to witness a big one. Just for the sound alone which is rarely captured on TV. The tangible change in atmosphere at the event and all that. I mean what's the point if you're not going to soak up the experience, for better or for worse. No-one wants to crash, but that's the nature of the beast, so to speak... Accept it or ban dangerous sports...

  • I saw this crash - from the grandstand outside of turn 3 - Ongais did a 360 at the end of the backstretch after pitting the lap before. After the spin he went head on into 3rd turn wall and the car erupted in a gigantic fireball then slid down the short chute and out of sight.

  • Danny was very lucky to survive this crash and he even came back the next year to race again. The worse crash I have ever seen is Gordon Smileys crash in 1982 turn 3 during qualifications.

  • isnt this what the RED flag is for?

    

  • All I can think of is Ongais breathing in all that dry chemical extinguisher powder. I had to put out an engine fire with one of those and I had respiratory issues for months afterward.

  • @Badseed131313 I wondered about that. Halon was plentiful and cheap then. No mess. I was in a computer room once when Halon was discharged, it was no big deal. and no mess. And it didn't affect the breathing.

  • @IExposeMormonism Reflash. With halon or CO2 if you don't extinguish the fire in one go the fuel can reflash as soon as the gas starts to dissipate. With powder or foam the extinguishing agent separates the fuel from the oxygen preventing it from reflashing. Water can be used on alcohol (methanol) fuel but burning petroleum fuel will float above the surface and spread the flames. The visible flames you see in the crash is the engine oil burning; alcohol flames are invisible.

  • @Badseed131313 Didn't know that. I put out a fire once, on a car, the fuel line leaked and ignited the asphalt up through the engine area. It went right out. It the choice for computer rooms, electrical fires, no mess.

  • Jackie S is the man when it comes to open wheel racing and 100% balls of heat tempered titanium. Anyone who doubts that just watch the "F1 Review" videos on here. He raced back when F1 and saftey were not words that were connected in any way.

  • @ 3:05 , thats what u call independent suspension

  • is that jackie??

  • Why does the suggestion show a snake swallowing a woman?? lol

  • They talk about how the car breaks apart like it was supposed to, no i think the car pretty much failed

  • @sotodnl

    Cars didn't break apart in those days like they do today so major crashes like thi one were much much worse for drivers. Saftey while never 100 % is much much better today than back then

  • I can understand him fine.

  • OMG! How the hell did he survive that???

  • I was sitting right in front of this wreck in the short shoot, it sounded like a bomb going of when he impacted the wall. I still find it hard to believe he survived this crash!

  • Pause at 4:00 the tire hit him in the head. Good thing he survived. 

  • Does anyone know if the spectator was ok?

  • This and Stan Fox's accidents were the most horrific non-fatal accidents at the speedway that I am aware of. It's amazing how much safer the cars are today.

  • GORDON SMILEY´s Crash.. the worst horrific crash from Indy...

  • @SilentTestify Yeah, anytime the car just literally explodes....that's pretty bad.

  • you know... there aren't many drivers that made good commentators. Jacky Stewart did a fantastic job calling races. It's no wonder he makes such a great teacher. What a man.

  • dude the crewman barley got out of the car without getting run over.

  • "oh and the driver is in the car, he is still in the car!" yeah like that was never supposed to happen :D

  • Jim McKay and Jackie Stewart.. Now there are 2 voices that REALLY take me back.

  • @27hfd It's just not the same w/out McKay/Stewart calling the race...I even enjoyed Sam posey doing reports and of course the great Chris Economaki...McKay and Stewart added drama to the action...

  • Miracles happens

  • @er1c175

    I agree. Its interesting to watch a crash as long as everyone walks away from it, but if I want to watch a "race" for the crashes, I'll go to a demo derby. And it's sick that there are fans out there who will call a race boring because of "a lack of crashes", unlike what was advertised

  • they use horrific crashes in the commercials for the upcoming indy 500!

    "It's not a question of if it will happen but when it will happen!"

    then they show a car disintegrating after flying through the air!

    using someone else's misery to get people to watch for the wrong reasons!

    now just imagine up to 75% of the fans wishing and wanting something tragic to happen and it usually will because of that!

    RIP for those who gave all for our entertainment!

  • That was Danny Ongais. He suffered very serious injuries to his legs,a broken arm and internal injuries,but recovered to race again. He was very quick, but wasn't quite the same after the accident. He did manage to lead a few laps in the 1984 Indy 500, though, and returned to the Indy 500 in 1996 after a 10 year layoff to finish 7th.

  • He was not decapitated. CART medical director Steve Olvey discussed the crash: "When I reached the car, I was shocked to see that Smiley's helmet was gone, along with the top of his skull. He had essentially been scalped by the debris fence. The material on the race track was most of his brain. His helmet, due to massive centrifugal force, was literally pulled from his head on impact..."

  • um dos póres q ja ví

  • the flyin' hawaiian!

  • open wheel racing so fucking stupid they never halt a race cars flying by while rescue workers are trying to help

  • Smiley was decapitated, next day in indianapolis star they ran a photo of the helmet. You could make out the facial features from most of the head remaining in the helmet and bouncing down the track. Brutal, he tried to save a slide and suffered expected results.

  • Ongias was one guy who should've quit when he was ahead.

  • I was in the infield at the fence were he came to a stop...this was the worst crash I have ever seen at Indy or anywhere else.

  • what year was this

  • Smiley's face went straight into the concrete wall, in one frame you can see his orange helmet go straight into the wall, face first.

  • I was at this race and seen the smoke from the accident. My Dad and brother were at the turn when he crashed and thought there was no wa he survived but he did and he was lucky. It was a strange Indy 500 because of the controversial ending.

  • This could have been life ending. It was very similar to Gordon Smileys wreck.

  • @mad122780 yes... actually Gordon Smiley died from his body hitting the catch fencing because his car actually got airborne from the impact. Even without hitting the catch fence, Smiley's body tumbled against the racing surface down the short shoot which would have also caused fatal injury... all caused partially by the car getting torn up by the catch fence.Same likely would have happened here but the car did not get airborne and into the catch fence.

  • @erasetoimprove fatal decapitation, heads in the helmet.

  • @erasetoimprove smileys head is in the helmet. indianapolis star had photo you can see nose and eyes barely as it tumbles down the track.

  • @Maxeroni33 he was not actually decapitated. His helmet did come off, but you can see his body in-tact, head included, being dragged down the track if you look at the replays in super slow motion, or even normal speed if you know what to look for. I recommend watching the first video that pops up when you type in GORDON SMILEY, it's a tribute I believe. Very good footage of it there. Not that I enjoy watching a driver die, but if you really want to see what happened that's the best footage/speed

  • @erasetoimprove wow ok ill take your word for it. Not much for morbid subjects either, just wanted to put what i thought was true. The subject was reintroduced by youtube. I spent all this time, even a year in 91 working on the indycar circut and grew up in same neighborhood as some drivers knowing them personally for years but as you can understand the subject just was never brought up. Was also ad dinner with bettenhausen a few days before he died in his airplane. That was extremely sad.

  • Danny Ongais raced for Scott Brayton in the 500 after Brayton was killed in practice earlier in the week later on in his career.

  • jackie stewarts accent makes even the worst news sound cool.

  • 0:12 GUY MOONWALKING WHILST HOLDING ON TO A CAR?

  • Is this the same Danny Ongais that used to drag race ?

  • Danny Ongais

  • This was 1981. He qualified 9th the very next year...

  • This scared me to death...well almost

  • u have to give it to the indy safety crews..they are often at the car BEFORE it even stops u cannot ge better safety teasm anywhere they have saved more then one driver..

  • Jackie Stewart bables, and bables and bables and keeps on babling.

    - WERE HE NERVOUS ???

  • that's a horrifying thing to switch to @ 0:07

  • why didn't they stop the race asap?

  • the announcer is pointing out the obvious. look theres a car going by right there

  • That's some high-quality commentating.

  • Only thing better would have been if Jackie Stewart had been a radio_ commentator rather than TV. Sid Collins on the 500 radio broadcast was rarely blessed with good race analysts, with one major exception: Freddie "Agabatian (SP) Best by a mile. Worst was the first-Maury Rose. Peter De Paolo would have been great, but never got the chance. There's an interview he did with Bill Vukovich just days before that great champion was fatally injured in '55.

  • wheres the crash?

  • LOL the tire is encouraging the car to slide more

  • @chaosfiction95 left front, perfect turn, the mechanism, linkage joining ALL things

  • @chaosfiction95 left front, perfect turn, the mechanism, linkage joining ALL things, tragic sight when the car peels away

  • Jackie Stewart did more than anyone in campaigning to improve safety in formula one (and so indirectly in all forms of motorsport). When you hear him talking in the 1960s and 70s about serious and fatal incidents though there is definitely a lot of old-fashioned British 'stiff upper lip'.

  • @0AndyC0

    yea, jackie was allowed to bitch about safety conditions and not get called a pussy because he dominated at the nordschlaffe. which is probably the most dangerous course ever raced on

  • @fatriani

    ya, when someone proven to have balls of steel says something's too dangerous, you'd have to be a fool not to listen

  • @0AndyC0 and yet he asked senna the worst possible question

  • @0AndyC0 actualy thats 'Scotish savy'

  • @0AndyC0 ya jackie stewart stuck his neck out back then, he created alot of enemies....but good for him, driver's were dieing left right & centre.

  • Jackie Stewart is the most knowledgable announcer i've ever heard. Guys today sound like morons compaired to him.

  • haha this has to be some of the most demented motorsports coverage I've ever seem. A man is practically dead in front of our eyes and they're just talking away exuberantly about how injured everyone is, and showing all sorts of exciting replays. Then when questioned about how the other drivers feel about their friend being dead, the announcer tells everyone that they just don't really give a crap.

  • @C0LL1N none of what you said is true. watch the video again and see if you can post your lies again

  • @MrBoolyman i'd post it again but then it would be up here twice.

  • @C0LL1N read jackie stewart's autoboigraphy, then you might understand what the drivers really go through when they find out what happened to their friends after the race, i read the part where he was talking about jim 'jimmy' clark (r.i.p) and he couldn't hold it together when he was told the news...

  • I was in L stand that day, just under the ABC turn 3 camera. He lost it way early in the turn, far more early than Smiley. Danny O had another frightening crash 3-4 years later at the Michigan 500 where he cartwheeled down the backstretch.

  • Lemme correct the title.

    One of the worst Indy 500 crashes where someone lived.

    Amazing too, had that car hit the wall a split second sooner so it would of hit head on, he would of been a red splotch on the wall, or just like Gordon Smiley, and just have all of him all over the track

  • @crazeejosh The first announcer says "Danny Ongais" right after the wreck...right before they put DANNY ONGAIS on the screen in yellow letters (@ 0:08). What more do you need to know?

    The "retard announcer" that you can't understand is three-time World Drivers Champion Jackie Stewart.

  • @ryanlong01 I can understand him perfectly.. Perhaps it's cus i'm english

  • @ryanlong01 lmao

  • @crazeejosh this "retard" is just about the geatest british formula one driver to have ever lived - sir jackie stewart. more of a man than you'll ever be....

  • @storma1 British? Forget it dude...hes the best SCOTTISH race driver please dont forget that

  • @Cassnet It's a shame Jim Clark isn't still around

  • @Cassnet i am pretty sure the commentator said he was Hawaiian born @ 4:24

  • @Cassnet i am pretty sure the commentator said he was Hawaiian born @ 4:24

    Unless you was refering to Sir Jackie Stewart! soz

  • What did he say at 2:37?

  • @lakelandchief ...he said he dropped a fire curtain in front of his face. . must of been a metaphor for being able to block something like that out and keep doing his job., but that is speculation on my part

  • I saw this on a rerun (I seem to recall they showed the race late one Saturday night).

  • @Zoomer30 The Indianapolis "500" back then was shown in an edited two-hour presentation on ABC in prime-time the evening of the race.

    Maybe the same-day tape aired in the Indianapolis area late that night (instead of prime-time) to "protect the live gate".

  • "He never won an Indianapolis 500 race, but history will remember him fondly for his stylish driving outfits and workmanlike driving"

    Is that supposed to be a compliment Wikipedia?