I worked for Wally Dallenbach Sr. I met Swede when Wally won the California 500. A very nice person, a good looking guy. The sadest moment that I remember...He did not die on impact. He lived for 2 weeks and then passed away. We will never forget...Mr. Dallenbach was fine person. He brought us gifts when he won. He rode up to Goodyear in one of two dune buggies. He had a lime green dune buggy and a purple dune buggy. They were legal years ago. Car 40. I still have pictures.
@707jetairliner I remember that on the highlights. No more methanol fuel anymore in Indycar racing. Remember the 1994 F1 German Grand Prix where Verstappen's Benetton was in flames due to the fuel splashing on the hot brake rotors. That was scary to say the least.
@DC322 Yes i sure do remember that fire erupted so quickly off the rotors. I know it wasn't, but that almost looked like a gasoline fire with all the black smoke. I'll have to say though, they had it put out pretty fast. They need some of those rescue people at Texas or where ever it was that they let Simona De Sylvestro sit in that burning race car for about a minute!
The last year for gasoline at Indy was 1964 after the accident that took the lives of Eddie Sachs and Dave Macdonald. The cars in 1973 were using methanol. Methanol flame is almost invisible in daylight. But because it was an overcast day and Swede had just pitted and received 75 gallons in his car, the result was an explosion. The worst part was I heard he was going to survive his injuries, but received contaminated plasma in the hospital, and died 33 days after the accident.
I remember this like it was yesterday. I was only 11 years old growing up in NY, where you didn't hear much racing news, but it seemed like something bad was hanging over this race even before it started and the bad crashes occurred, like everyone was waiting for something bad to happen, just like the Las Vegas race this year. The Sporting News printed an awful picture of Swede sitting on the race track with the wreckage all around him. @ 0.53 it looks like a bomb hit the race track. Bad times.
I remember watching this live on TV with my Dad as a boy. It seemed as if the whole country did. It was in every newspaper and every magazine. The Country mourned at his passing. I was at the Jersey Shore when I heard it.
Once again Stupid inapropriate music. Silence is golden in remembering this event that changed the Indy cars and the loss of a great man
The Indy 500 was telecast "live" beginning in 1986...before then it was only "live" on radio. You may have watched it on tape-delay later that evening on ABC.
You can see him almost totally upright at the very end of this- the editing isn't chronological- He comes out of the crash on his haunches and he's still strapped to pieces struggling- The view I had was just about like the shot from behind- I didn't see much flames- but could see the heat waves distorting the image- I don't know if the flames appeared different from the front somehow- but he was in a fire, conscious and trying to rise. The word back then was death from burns.
I admired Sede Savage and his talent and loved watching the twin 'Cuda's' he and Gurney drove (out of Dan's AAR in Santa Ana, CA) at the tracks in Southern California. I was competing in Formula Ford at the time and went to the Trans Am races every chance I got. I was at the Questor Grand Prix at the old Ontario Motor Speedway when Swede had a near fatal shunt in Gurney's Eagel F5000 car. Many of the Indy 500 accounts posted here are incorrect. His accident was on lap 58 - he led laps 43-54.
I was their the crash happened 3 seconds into the race and was not restarted because it started to rain again shortly after the crash it had rained all morning. The race was won by Gorden Johncock about a week later it was also rain shortened. I love Indy but have not been back.
I remember this I was 13 years old. Al Sr. won the race I think savage was leading at the time of the crash, this was right at the end. He was in a coma in the hospital for quite some time before passing away.
he wasnt a good driver but will be remembered for this spectacular crash. sometimes people were born to be remembered for something horrific. This wasnt that horrific a crash, i have seen much worse. I would give this crash a 4 out of 10.
This should be considered a death due to medical department problems rather than the accident. He died a month after this crash due to sudden liver failure as plasma administered at the hospital for his lungs and kidneys (from the accident itself) was tainted and was contaminated. Some patients across the country died from the this batch of nationally administered plasma. Unfortunately, he was just the most prominent figure to have died.
I was there sitting in turn 3...Savage was leading the race when he lost it, so all eyes were on him. You could feel the heat blast from the fireball where I was. Later in the same incident a mechanic was running from the pit area toward turn 4 and was hit by an ambulance driving backward down the pit road toward turn 4 and was instantly killed. Savage's last radio trans to his crew was "Holy $h!t, what a mess!"
Swede although i never met him was my great uncle... my dad has told me about him but now that im 17 i thought i would check him out and its crazy how many fans he has! Fior those who dont know he also was a very good football player! he was Allstate in highschool and played linebacker! he was about 6'2 205 lbs. and for back then he was considered a big man... he got kicked off the football team beacause he was getting paid for racing dirtbikes and cars therefor was considered a pro athlete...
@MattSavage1251 It's one of the most brutal accidents i ever saw. I have an old movie named 1978 - Formula 1 Febbre Della Velocita (Speed Fever) - That shows that he was throw of is car and lost his helmet in the crash :( if he lived 33 days after this - it was a death of a superman :( Matt you must be proud to have someone with the courage of driving in those days in the family
Savage joked with medical personnel after the wreck, and was expected to live when taken to Methodist Hospital Medical Center and for some time thereafter. However, he died in the hospital 33 days after the accident.
from 1:04 and holding pause and releasing it you can see Swede still strapped in and waving his arm tring to get loose with flames all over him. Very Horrific indeed.
What's interesting is, in listening to the '73 '500' radio broadcast, the accident was so massive the announcers first thought that TWO cars were involved! In a later interview with Don Kenyon (Mel's brother), he said Savage likely survived the initial accident due to a special firesuit he was wearing that would fill with foam in the event of an accident. Apparently a couple of other drivers, including Mel, were wearing similar suits.
1973 was a bad year in general for Indy, Pollard, Savage, and the crewman (don't remember his name). Add to that Salt Walther's crash where a ton of fuel was sprayed into the crowd, it took a while to regain the image a little, not like 1996 obviously but a while.
Swede actually walked out of the crash alive but died later in the hospital i think due to a bad blood transfusion. Many people also forget that one of his crewmembers was killed because he was hit by the medical truck. This was probably the most horrific Indy 500 to date. also Art Pollard died in a practice crash earlier...RIP to all. and nice use of anidiplosis in the description
I do recall watching this back then, horrified, and *convinced* Savage died then and there, burnt to a crisp (who would have thought otherwise?), but amazed to hear he actually survived the crash, only to die from a bum transfusion.
I remember this...I was only 9 but my dad was always into racing, cars, etc. so I saw many of them growing up. Savage was a favorite of many, including my folks.
We lived in AL aka Allison/Bonnett Territory, back then ;~)
I agree that it is amazing he survived the crash at all...can't imagine the suffering the poor fellow went through with the severe injuries he had. He is resting pain-free, now. Bless him and his family.
The sad thing is that he survived the crash conscious (he even joked with medical personnel) but died in the hospital because of infected plasma transfusions...
I liked this driver because his hometown during this race was listed as Santa Ana, CA and living in Orange County at the time I had an affinity towards any Indy driver from the area. This crash was so devasting that it is utterly amazing the he survived the initial impact. A real testament to his will to live. To hear that he actually died as a result of a tainted blood transfusion is tragic and ironic at the same time. You are right geoffandceci, that year was a bad one at Indy.
I was thirteen years old.I saw that crash on television in San Jose,and that lone bouncing tire is the one thing I remember.Whenever I hear"Shambala"by Three Dog Night,I think of this crash.I always thought that he died on the track.
"Read the book, might teach you a thing or two, but then again I doubt that."
Doubt right. I'm an RN, 15 yrs in UK ER & motorsport fan.
Savage died- not unexpectedly- from multiple organ failure.
The PUBLIC STATEMENTS made by Olvey (so book aint essential) are more than 'exaggeration' and just not credible
MrSPM27: you admit medical ignorance, that people selling books bullshit & then you backtrack and insult me just because you don't like that you can't answer facts.
le feu na aucun rapport dans la video , car apres le crash tout le reste de la voiture c est desintegrer et la coque et le corps du pilote on trainer sur la piste . helas il etait deja trop tard ....
According to Wikipedia Savage died a month later and possibly not of injuries from the crash but some other cause. What isn't mentioned here is pit man Graham MacRae who was run over and killed by one of the emergency vehicles heading to the accident.
Savage's death was as a result of the crash - the burns and other injuries he sustained finally caused his kidneys to fail, leading inevitably to heart failure. He had the best medical care possible but ultimately the effects of mass tissue destruction places too great a strain upon the organs.
@krakenwave Read "Rapid Response" by Stepehen Olvey. He was the doctor for the Indy Car and CART championships for over 30 years. In it he describes how Savage was fine and would have recovered but that he was given blood which was contaminated (as were several other people in America) and infected his body, killing him.
@poffy8888 He was joking with the medics after the crash and was fine until he was given infected plasma, as stated in the book. Olvey had probably the closest contact with him and was a doctor, so I think his statment can be believed.
Oh fuck - not a consipracy theory?Cause of death is a big deal - hence coroners and inquests and death certs and stuff. All I asked was: what is this fatal "blood contaminant"? The same fundamental question any doctor, any coroner- indeed, anyone curious enough to establish fact - would ask. I know of the book you refer to but never saw it (not published in the UK). Presumably you have it. So I'll ask again - what was this blood contaminant?
There would have been a federally-mandated investigation started, documented & with findings publicly available if blood for transfusion was thought to be contaminated. Remember Ryan White ?
Does it ever occur to you that Olvey might have an agenda that differs from plain fact? That he makes this absurd claim not cos its true but to sell lots of his book to those fans dumb enough to unquestioningly believe such manifest bullshit ?
@krakenwave Well first off, I'm not a doctor and to be honest facts and figures about health and causes of death don't particularly appeal to me (unlike yourself obviously).
Second I don't have the book to hand otherwise I'd spend my good time looking for what exactly it was just to shut you up.
From what I remember it was somthing to do with the plasma and that it was contaminated, but again I'm no doctor, just a motorracing fan.
@MrSPM27 Swede was my favorite driver; I was only 17 Y/O back in "73" but I remember it as if it was yesterday; although I am not an M.D. it was a combination of Swede getting contimated Plasma during a blood transfusion, which distroyed his liver. He also had a lot of massive internal organ damage in addition to the horrific burns on his right hand, face & arms; just the fact that he survived the impact of hitting the pit wall at 200 mph is amazing; See you in Heaven Sweder!
@krakenwave As for Olvey, yeah granted people do exaggerate things in books to sell. However I doubt he exaggaerated this to sell to be honest and the fact your suggesting he has made an absurd claim, despite not reading the book or knowing anything about him would probably put you in the category of "those dumb fans"
Read the book, might teach you a thing or two, but then again I doubt that.
@krakenwave Read "Rapid Response" by Stepehen Olvey. He was the doctor for the Indy Car and CART championships for over 30 years. In it he describes how Savage was fine and would have recovered but that he was given blood which was contaminated (as were several other people in America) and infected his body, killing him.
@saskabush2006 it was a man named Armando Moreno Teran who died not Graham. A safety truck, speeding up pit road in the opposite direction of normal traffic, hit Teran from behind at 60 mph and killed him
@alonenjersey Sorry alonejersey, your wrong. Swede lived for 33 days after the crash & he died on July 2nd, 1973. (se me other comments of what actually killed him) Geoff.
@geoffandceci Swede was my Uncle-and I never got a chance to know him-I was almost 3 years old when this happened. But I've heard many good things from friends & family who knew him.
I refuse to acknowledge that Swede Savage or Ronnie Peterson died cause racing accidents. No, they both died cause different reasons. Like Dennis Hulme who died heart attack and not because subsequent crash. Saying that they died in racing accident is saying like all bodies cremated in funeral died because fire accident...
@urmo345 I have no idea what your point is here, but if it's that racing accidents didn't kill these two because they didn't die in the crash, that's fucking moronic. It's like saying that someone that bled out after being shot didn't die from being shot, but died from bleeding. That might be true, but the injuries that killed them came from being shot, just like racing accidents caused the injuries that killed these drivers.
@pigmeat40 That bleeding example is absurd! Denny Hulme died cause heart attack, not because accident. Swede Savage died cause he contracted hepatitis B from a transfusion, causing his liver to fail, not because accident. Only Peterson death is more closely related accident, yes, but mainly it was medical blunder that killed him.
@urmo345 The Peterson and Savage crashes aren't comparable to Hulme's. Hulme had a heart attack that killed him at the wheel.
Death ---> Crash
Peterson and Savage died from complications that would never have occured if they hadn't been in crashes
Crash ---> Death
Now for a better example...
Imagine you get in a fight and cause a minor injury to someone. They recieve poor treatment, and, over a course of time, die from complications steeming from the orginal injury (cont)...
@pigmeat40 You would be culpable for that death because you caused the orginal injury that led to death.
For Peterson/ Savage, if they didn't crash, they would have no need for the treatments that caused complications and evetually killed them. Same idea. This doesn't work for Hulme cause he's dead any which way, behind the wheel, at home, etc, he was probably going to have a major heart attack.
@pigmeat40 _Peterson and Savage died from complications that would never have occured if they hadn't been in crashes_
Following your "logic" a fire victims, let's say, in movie theater died cause they did came to watch movie, otherwise "they hadn't been in fire". So cause of death, again following your "logic", is movie theater or visiting it.
@pigmeat40 you must learn what is direct cause and what is indirect cause. Medic who kills is direct cause, accident that did bring person to him/her is indirect one.
@urmo345 Once again, I agree that the crashes did not directly kill these three.
But my point is, once again, they're not comparable because Hulme is dead before his crash. Savage and Peterson die from complications stemming from injuries sustained in their crashes. With or without a crash, Hulme would die from a heart attack completely unrelated to racing. Savage and Peterson would not have died when they did if it weren't for their accidents. Simple as that.
I remember this one an what a terrible year. Soon afterward the track was changed to get rid of that wall and change the pit enterance. That was a sad day for sure.
@AutoRockinRacing94 I remember watching this live. If the tape had played on another 2 seconds,you would have seen the ambulance driving through the grass from behind the wreck hit someone running to the scene and launching him in the air.they replayed that on T.V. a few times too.
I was 7 years old when this happened. I remember a d.j. on the radio announcing Swede's death and he stressed all young children to remember to wear your seat belt. That has stuck with me ever since.
I watched this whole thing throuugh binoculars from where my family sat for years in turn four.
Beside the motor, Swede was the biggest piece left on the track. He actually stood up, with pieces of wreckage hanging from him. I could see the heat waves around him, but not the fire- but by the way he was squirming around, I knew he was on fire.
A most horrible and unforgetable sight- I had no dreams of racing after.
It was about the end of Andy Granetelli's STP day glo orange cars then.
I've seen Andy Granetelli the past 2 years at the Indy 500 riding around in the celebrity cars that tour the track before the race, but I think '73 was his last year at Indy being competitve. If it was I can't blame him...he had 3 drivers in the race: Savage who dies, MacRae's pitcrew man is killed in an avoidable accident after Andy G. tells him to help in the Savage wreck, and he had the winner Johncock...forget the fact that his former driver Art Pollard was killed before qualifying in '73.
"It is widely reported that Savage died of kidney failure from infection, but Dr. Steve Olvey, Savage's attending physician at Indy (and later CART's Director of Medical Affairs), claimed in his book Rapid Response that the real cause of death was complications related to contaminated plasma. Olvey claimed that Savage contracted hepatitis B from a transfusion, causing his liver to fail."
He wasn't killed from the crash. He died in the hospital 33 days later. the blood he was recieving was possibly contaiminated with hepatitis B, causing his liver to fail, resulting in death.
rotten luck, at least he didn't burn to death - thank the Lord for that - I'd rather go like he did then say Roger Williamson same year at Zandvoort, Netherlands - watch that one - it was really screwed up
That goddam '73 Indy still gives me the creeps to this day, what with Pollard, Walther , and that Savage crash. Remember hoping like hell he would live and was saddened when he finally died.
Yes he died about a month later. This was the first Indy car to have a built in fire extinguisher sytsem. Designed to go off on impact. Cause of the crash was was rear wing came loose. he had just taken the lead in the race too...
No way was he killed instantly! Have a look at the footage again Doug4422 and from one of the angles you can clearly see him trying to get out of the burning wreck of his car.
I was at that race i was 13 years old and across from the pitts,sad he died from blood transfusions tainted blood after surviving that accident,remember man getting hit in pit row a sad day
Could you do it at those speeds? It is a 500 mile race, at speeds well over 100 miles an hour back in the day, it took it's toll on the cars. I'd like to see you try it!
Atari YOU are uneducated and I do exist to your discomfort :). Ask your mother.. Now go polish the wheels on your house. You need to give up that bad habit you have, , , breathing!
wow thats tragic :( at 1:05 is it just me or is that him moving inside the burning car??
f1razorman 4 days ago
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f1razorman 4 days ago
I worked for Wally Dallenbach Sr. I met Swede when Wally won the California 500. A very nice person, a good looking guy. The sadest moment that I remember...He did not die on impact. He lived for 2 weeks and then passed away. We will never forget...Mr. Dallenbach was fine person. He brought us gifts when he won. He rode up to Goodyear in one of two dune buggies. He had a lime green dune buggy and a purple dune buggy. They were legal years ago. Car 40. I still have pictures.
NJGirlShirl 1 week ago
wow, I remember seeing this Live on TV when I was ten years old. I never forgot this guys name. I always thought he had a cool as hell name.
gallantman44 2 weeks ago
After the crash, You see white coat next to the car? Sadly, he got ran over and killed by the firetruck
RockHotTamales 3 weeks ago
Lucky he died on impact would hate for anyone to be burned to death.
gitrdonedavid 3 months ago
@gitrdonedavid actually, he didn't die on impact (which is a miracle). he died 33 days later, from contaminated plasma.
gmiky 3 months ago
If anyone remembers Rick Mears pit fire in the 80's where he received facial burns, that was a methanol fire and was invisible to the eye.
707jetairliner 3 months ago
@707jetairliner I remember it was in an Open Wheel WTF video. But I think the account was taken down.
gobackto82 3 months ago
@707jetairliner I remember that on the highlights. No more methanol fuel anymore in Indycar racing. Remember the 1994 F1 German Grand Prix where Verstappen's Benetton was in flames due to the fuel splashing on the hot brake rotors. That was scary to say the least.
DC322 3 months ago
@DC322 Yes i sure do remember that fire erupted so quickly off the rotors. I know it wasn't, but that almost looked like a gasoline fire with all the black smoke. I'll have to say though, they had it put out pretty fast. They need some of those rescue people at Texas or where ever it was that they let Simona De Sylvestro sit in that burning race car for about a minute!
707jetairliner 3 months ago
The last year for gasoline at Indy was 1964 after the accident that took the lives of Eddie Sachs and Dave Macdonald. The cars in 1973 were using methanol. Methanol flame is almost invisible in daylight. But because it was an overcast day and Swede had just pitted and received 75 gallons in his car, the result was an explosion. The worst part was I heard he was going to survive his injuries, but received contaminated plasma in the hospital, and died 33 days after the accident.
707jetairliner 3 months ago
I remember this like it was yesterday. I was only 11 years old growing up in NY, where you didn't hear much racing news, but it seemed like something bad was hanging over this race even before it started and the bad crashes occurred, like everyone was waiting for something bad to happen, just like the Las Vegas race this year. The Sporting News printed an awful picture of Swede sitting on the race track with the wreckage all around him. @ 0.53 it looks like a bomb hit the race track. Bad times.
RRaquello 4 months ago
I think this was the last year for gasoline at the Speedway.
f4tweet 4 months ago
@f4tweet Gasoline last year 1964 After the Sachs MacDonald crash.
1957thack 2 weeks ago
I was there..It was horrific... worse was minutes later seeing Armando Teran getting killed by a fire truck on pit lane...
Draxillior 4 months ago
I remember watching this live on TV with my Dad as a boy. It seemed as if the whole country did. It was in every newspaper and every magazine. The Country mourned at his passing. I was at the Jersey Shore when I heard it.
Once again Stupid inapropriate music. Silence is golden in remembering this event that changed the Indy cars and the loss of a great man
forestgreen98 5 months ago
@forestgreen98
The Indy 500 was telecast "live" beginning in 1986...before then it was only "live" on radio. You may have watched it on tape-delay later that evening on ABC.
mwarren400 4 months ago
@mwarren400 perhaps so. But recall the lack of comunication of that time. We were watching it for the very first time and it certainally seemed live
forestgreen98 4 months ago
wasnt there another hugcrash at this race?
The99DODGER 5 months ago
At least no one was injured. Thank the God.
roadrashsuxass 5 months ago
@roadrashsuxass stfu with that god shit virgin
BlueBlazer89 5 months ago
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roadrashsuxass 4 months ago
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roadrashsuxass 4 months ago
@tomwinter57
You can see him almost totally upright at the very end of this- the editing isn't chronological- He comes out of the crash on his haunches and he's still strapped to pieces struggling- The view I had was just about like the shot from behind- I didn't see much flames- but could see the heat waves distorting the image- I don't know if the flames appeared different from the front somehow- but he was in a fire, conscious and trying to rise. The word back then was death from burns.
harponercam 6 months ago
I admired Sede Savage and his talent and loved watching the twin 'Cuda's' he and Gurney drove (out of Dan's AAR in Santa Ana, CA) at the tracks in Southern California. I was competing in Formula Ford at the time and went to the Trans Am races every chance I got. I was at the Questor Grand Prix at the old Ontario Motor Speedway when Swede had a near fatal shunt in Gurney's Eagel F5000 car. Many of the Indy 500 accounts posted here are incorrect. His accident was on lap 58 - he led laps 43-54.
OnTheMoneyMooney 6 months ago
At that horrible moment of the race. Swede along with G.Johncock had the two strongest cars running.
1957thack 6 months ago
I was their the crash happened 3 seconds into the race and was not restarted because it started to rain again shortly after the crash it had rained all morning. The race was won by Gorden Johncock about a week later it was also rain shortened. I love Indy but have not been back.
72caddie 6 months ago
Gordon Johncock was the one who this race in 73
wallguytheman 7 months ago
It's a wonder that more people weren't killed by all the flying debris.
mohawkman251988 7 months ago
I remember this I was 13 years old. Al Sr. won the race I think savage was leading at the time of the crash, this was right at the end. He was in a coma in the hospital for quite some time before passing away.
daveni2 7 months ago
@daveni2 no no, it was Bobby Unser that won, Al Jr's uncle
daveni2 7 months ago
he wasnt a good driver but will be remembered for this spectacular crash. sometimes people were born to be remembered for something horrific. This wasnt that horrific a crash, i have seen much worse. I would give this crash a 4 out of 10.
gbop63 8 months ago
How can anyone like this, some one lost their life., in this crash this was a very bad year for Indy
racefan32 8 months ago
This should be considered a death due to medical department problems rather than the accident. He died a month after this crash due to sudden liver failure as plasma administered at the hospital for his lungs and kidneys (from the accident itself) was tainted and was contaminated. Some patients across the country died from the this batch of nationally administered plasma. Unfortunately, he was just the most prominent figure to have died.
RIP Swede.
frostyis007 8 months ago
it's sick that he tried to get out of it
Clownface125 8 months ago
I was there sitting in turn 3...Savage was leading the race when he lost it, so all eyes were on him. You could feel the heat blast from the fireball where I was. Later in the same incident a mechanic was running from the pit area toward turn 4 and was hit by an ambulance driving backward down the pit road toward turn 4 and was instantly killed. Savage's last radio trans to his crew was "Holy $h!t, what a mess!"
l1nkh0gthr0b 9 months ago
I remember hearing on the radio that Swede Savage had died later. I was 8 years old and was very sad on hearing this. A tragic loss for his family.
orvillequick 9 months ago
Swede although i never met him was my great uncle... my dad has told me about him but now that im 17 i thought i would check him out and its crazy how many fans he has! Fior those who dont know he also was a very good football player! he was Allstate in highschool and played linebacker! he was about 6'2 205 lbs. and for back then he was considered a big man... he got kicked off the football team beacause he was getting paid for racing dirtbikes and cars therefor was considered a pro athlete...
MattSavage1251 9 months ago 16
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racefan32 8 months ago
@MattSavage1251 how did he get the name Swede?
racefan32 8 months ago
@MattSavage1251 It's one of the most brutal accidents i ever saw. I have an old movie named 1978 - Formula 1 Febbre Della Velocita (Speed Fever) - That shows that he was throw of is car and lost his helmet in the crash :( if he lived 33 days after this - it was a death of a superman :( Matt you must be proud to have someone with the courage of driving in those days in the family
ruixalves 6 months ago
@MattSavage1251 Thanks for sharing some inside history. I'm almost 40 and am too young to really remember anything other than the name.
1jacjo9ti 5 months ago
@MattSavage1251 no hes not stfu kid and stop trolling
BlueBlazer89 5 months ago
like not the terrible crash,but that you have it on in rem.i rem seeing this as a kid when it happened on tv
enserfud 9 months ago
savage was so close to becoming famous.he was going to recover but he was poisoned from some kind of "bad blood". sad, he was young too.
theswordman184 9 months ago
Max Payne Beats GTA?
carlosfcomen 9 months ago
I witnessed it. Including the accident in the pit area following Swede's crash. It haunts me to this day. /john
techguerrilla 9 months ago
He died 2 days later from a contaminated blood transfusion, though he was burned over 60% of his body.
fattddaddy1 9 months ago
@fattddaddy1
get your facts straight dude.
Savage joked with medical personnel after the wreck, and was expected to live when taken to Methodist Hospital Medical Center and for some time thereafter. However, he died in the hospital 33 days after the accident.
rcjackass 9 months ago
@fattddaddy1 what? No he died a month later due to liver failure.
frostyis007 8 months ago
hey rebel! watch your language in here please! why you have to swear?
zackfan 9 months ago
from 1:04 and holding pause and releasing it you can see Swede still strapped in and waving his arm tring to get loose with flames all over him. Very Horrific indeed.
oceanking18 10 months ago
That was my great uncle i never got to see him
rebal3041 10 months ago
I have some real photos of this...
rsmelser 10 months ago
What's interesting is, in listening to the '73 '500' radio broadcast, the accident was so massive the announcers first thought that TWO cars were involved! In a later interview with Don Kenyon (Mel's brother), he said Savage likely survived the initial accident due to a special firesuit he was wearing that would fill with foam in the event of an accident. Apparently a couple of other drivers, including Mel, were wearing similar suits.
scottdc861 11 months ago
1973 was a bad year in general for Indy, Pollard, Savage, and the crewman (don't remember his name). Add to that Salt Walther's crash where a ton of fuel was sprayed into the crowd, it took a while to regain the image a little, not like 1996 obviously but a while.
WSBT960 11 months ago
@WSBT960 The crewmans name was Armando Teran, he was a member of Savage's Patrick Racing teammate's Graham McRae team.
pauleypaul1 10 months ago
Swede actually walked out of the crash alive but died later in the hospital i think due to a bad blood transfusion. Many people also forget that one of his crewmembers was killed because he was hit by the medical truck. This was probably the most horrific Indy 500 to date. also Art Pollard died in a practice crash earlier...RIP to all. and nice use of anidiplosis in the description
utheman01 1 year ago
@utheman01 He did not "walk away." And he died because he was burned over 60% of his body and had - obviously - several broken bones.
billyalibi 10 months ago
he did NOT die because of burns.
descalf 9 months ago
I do recall watching this back then, horrified, and *convinced* Savage died then and there, burnt to a crisp (who would have thought otherwise?), but amazed to hear he actually survived the crash, only to die from a bum transfusion.
amateriat 1 year ago
I met him when i was 7. He was really nice. FUCK HEPATITUS B
Glibzer 1 year ago
Well at :45 those trailing cars came to a stop in a hurry.
SteveWard3928 1 year ago
I remember this...I was only 9 but my dad was always into racing, cars, etc. so I saw many of them growing up. Savage was a favorite of many, including my folks.
We lived in AL aka Allison/Bonnett Territory, back then ;~)
I agree that it is amazing he survived the crash at all...can't imagine the suffering the poor fellow went through with the severe injuries he had. He is resting pain-free, now. Bless him and his family.
whatanightmare1 1 year ago
The sad thing is that he survived the crash conscious (he even joked with medical personnel) but died in the hospital because of infected plasma transfusions...
rfactormo 1 year ago
I liked this driver because his hometown during this race was listed as Santa Ana, CA and living in Orange County at the time I had an affinity towards any Indy driver from the area. This crash was so devasting that it is utterly amazing the he survived the initial impact. A real testament to his will to live. To hear that he actually died as a result of a tainted blood transfusion is tragic and ironic at the same time. You are right geoffandceci, that year was a bad one at Indy.
gvalley07 1 year ago
Since many years Indy had had the best track marshals, this us an example, immediately on the spot, took f1 many years to get to that response time.
garciaram 1 year ago
I was thirteen years old.I saw that crash on television in San Jose,and that lone bouncing tire is the one thing I remember.Whenever I hear"Shambala"by Three Dog Night,I think of this crash.I always thought that he died on the track.
wolfstyle68 1 year ago
I met him hes a very genourus man he had a optimistic attitude when he was in thw hospital and died of hepatitus (however you spell it) b
Glibzer 1 year ago
R.I.P
motorsportfan1990 1 year ago
What the hell? Was that Savage on fire and waving his arms when the video ended?
beeroosterm 1 year ago
@beeroosterm bet your ass, it was ! first time i seen that too!
poffy8888 1 year ago
Ironically, the highlight film of the 1973 Indianapolis "500" was titled "Fire and Rain".
altfactor 1 year ago
"Read the book, might teach you a thing or two, but then again I doubt that."
Doubt right. I'm an RN, 15 yrs in UK ER & motorsport fan.
Savage died- not unexpectedly- from multiple organ failure.
The PUBLIC STATEMENTS made by Olvey (so book aint essential) are more than 'exaggeration' and just not credible
MrSPM27: you admit medical ignorance, that people selling books bullshit & then you backtrack and insult me just because you don't like that you can't answer facts.
That's low
krakenwave 1 year ago
le feu na aucun rapport dans la video , car apres le crash tout le reste de la voiture c est desintegrer et la coque et le corps du pilote on trainer sur la piste . helas il etait deja trop tard ....
MrGILREED 1 year ago
A correction to my post just now. I typed Graham McRae but I meant to type Armando Teran. Teran was one of McRae's pit men. Please pardon the error.
saskabush2006 1 year ago
According to Wikipedia Savage died a month later and possibly not of injuries from the crash but some other cause. What isn't mentioned here is pit man Graham MacRae who was run over and killed by one of the emergency vehicles heading to the accident.
saskabush2006 1 year ago
@saskabush2006
Savage's death was as a result of the crash - the burns and other injuries he sustained finally caused his kidneys to fail, leading inevitably to heart failure. He had the best medical care possible but ultimately the effects of mass tissue destruction places too great a strain upon the organs.
krakenwave 1 year ago
@krakenwave Actually his blood was contaminated from a dodgy batch which a few other people from America died from
MrSPM27 1 year ago
@MrSPM27
Name your fantasy contaminant or stfu
krakenwave 1 year ago
@krakenwave Read "Rapid Response" by Stepehen Olvey. He was the doctor for the Indy Car and CART championships for over 30 years. In it he describes how Savage was fine and would have recovered but that he was given blood which was contaminated (as were several other people in America) and infected his body, killing him.
So stuff you.
MrSPM27 1 year ago
@MrSPM27 NOOOOOO! u WRONG ! hE BREATHED IN FIRE. HIS BODY SHUT DOWN. IF THEY HAD TODAYS TECH., WUDV BEEN SAVED.
poffy8888 1 year ago
@poffy8888 He was joking with the medics after the crash and was fine until he was given infected plasma, as stated in the book. Olvey had probably the closest contact with him and was a doctor, so I think his statment can be believed.
Still, its pretty sad that he did die
MrSPM27 1 year ago
@poffy8888
geoffandceci 1 year ago
@MrSPM27
Oh fuck - not a consipracy theory?Cause of death is a big deal - hence coroners and inquests and death certs and stuff. All I asked was: what is this fatal "blood contaminant"? The same fundamental question any doctor, any coroner- indeed, anyone curious enough to establish fact - would ask. I know of the book you refer to but never saw it (not published in the UK). Presumably you have it. So I'll ask again - what was this blood contaminant?
Pissy abuse does not count as an answer.
krakenwave 1 year ago
@MrSPM27
There would have been a federally-mandated investigation started, documented & with findings publicly available if blood for transfusion was thought to be contaminated. Remember Ryan White ?
Does it ever occur to you that Olvey might have an agenda that differs from plain fact? That he makes this absurd claim not cos its true but to sell lots of his book to those fans dumb enough to unquestioningly believe such manifest bullshit ?
krakenwave 1 year ago
@krakenwave Well first off, I'm not a doctor and to be honest facts and figures about health and causes of death don't particularly appeal to me (unlike yourself obviously).
Second I don't have the book to hand otherwise I'd spend my good time looking for what exactly it was just to shut you up.
From what I remember it was somthing to do with the plasma and that it was contaminated, but again I'm no doctor, just a motorracing fan.
MrSPM27 1 year ago
@MrSPM27 Swede was my favorite driver; I was only 17 Y/O back in "73" but I remember it as if it was yesterday; although I am not an M.D. it was a combination of Swede getting contimated Plasma during a blood transfusion, which distroyed his liver. He also had a lot of massive internal organ damage in addition to the horrific burns on his right hand, face & arms; just the fact that he survived the impact of hitting the pit wall at 200 mph is amazing; See you in Heaven Sweder!
geoffandceci 1 year ago
@geoffandceci 73 was an ugly indy.............
poffy8888 1 year ago
@krakenwave As for Olvey, yeah granted people do exaggerate things in books to sell. However I doubt he exaggaerated this to sell to be honest and the fact your suggesting he has made an absurd claim, despite not reading the book or knowing anything about him would probably put you in the category of "those dumb fans"
Read the book, might teach you a thing or two, but then again I doubt that.
MrSPM27 1 year ago
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@krakenwave Read "Rapid Response" by Stepehen Olvey. He was the doctor for the Indy Car and CART championships for over 30 years. In it he describes how Savage was fine and would have recovered but that he was given blood which was contaminated (as were several other people in America) and infected his body, killing him.
So stuff you.
MrSPM27 1 year ago
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@krakenwave Actually his blood became contaminated by an infected batch which him and a few other people in America died from
MrSPM27 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@krakenwave Actually his blood became contaminated by an infected batch which him and a few other people in America died from
MrSPM27 1 year ago
@krakenwave thank-you ! finally got the rite answer from someone !
poffy8888 4 months ago
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krakenwave 3 months ago
@saskabush2006 as a RESULT FROM THE DAM CRASH !
poffy8888 1 year ago
@saskabush2006 it was a man named Armando Moreno Teran who died not Graham. A safety truck, speeding up pit road in the opposite direction of normal traffic, hit Teran from behind at 60 mph and killed him
ShadowOrin 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Death and cremation....Very efficient...!!!
SKYLANDBAK 1 year ago
OMG OMG at 1.07 you can see him try to stand up from the burning wreckage.
kevintje82onboard 1 year ago
If my memory is correct, Swede Savage died the morning after. Don't ask me how he did'nt die in that wrechage.
alonenjersey 1 year ago
@alonenjersey Your memory needs a little work. He was in the hospital for weeks and I believe died from liver failure.
freddycupples 1 year ago
@alonenjersey Sorry alonejersey, your wrong. Swede lived for 33 days after the crash & he died on July 2nd, 1973. (se me other comments of what actually killed him) Geoff.
geoffandceci 1 year ago
@geoffandceci Swede was my Uncle-and I never got a chance to know him-I was almost 3 years old when this happened. But I've heard many good things from friends & family who knew him.
TATTOOMIKE51504909 1 year ago
Wasn't a course worker hit be a vehicle and killed during this accident?
Cash2112 1 year ago
I refuse to acknowledge that Swede Savage or Ronnie Peterson died cause racing accidents. No, they both died cause different reasons. Like Dennis Hulme who died heart attack and not because subsequent crash. Saying that they died in racing accident is saying like all bodies cremated in funeral died because fire accident...
urmo345 1 year ago
@urmo345 I have no idea what your point is here, but if it's that racing accidents didn't kill these two because they didn't die in the crash, that's fucking moronic. It's like saying that someone that bled out after being shot didn't die from being shot, but died from bleeding. That might be true, but the injuries that killed them came from being shot, just like racing accidents caused the injuries that killed these drivers.
pigmeat40 1 year ago
@pigmeat40 That bleeding example is absurd! Denny Hulme died cause heart attack, not because accident. Swede Savage died cause he contracted hepatitis B from a transfusion, causing his liver to fail, not because accident. Only Peterson death is more closely related accident, yes, but mainly it was medical blunder that killed him.
So think before you rant....
urmo345 1 year ago
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pigmeat40 1 year ago
@urmo345 The Peterson and Savage crashes aren't comparable to Hulme's. Hulme had a heart attack that killed him at the wheel.
Death ---> Crash
Peterson and Savage died from complications that would never have occured if they hadn't been in crashes
Crash ---> Death
Now for a better example...
Imagine you get in a fight and cause a minor injury to someone. They recieve poor treatment, and, over a course of time, die from complications steeming from the orginal injury (cont)...
pigmeat40 1 year ago
@pigmeat40 You would be culpable for that death because you caused the orginal injury that led to death.
For Peterson/ Savage, if they didn't crash, they would have no need for the treatments that caused complications and evetually killed them. Same idea. This doesn't work for Hulme cause he's dead any which way, behind the wheel, at home, etc, he was probably going to have a major heart attack.
pigmeat40 1 year ago
@pigmeat40 _Peterson and Savage died from complications that would never have occured if they hadn't been in crashes_
Following your "logic" a fire victims, let's say, in movie theater died cause they did came to watch movie, otherwise "they hadn't been in fire". So cause of death, again following your "logic", is movie theater or visiting it.
*laughing*
urmo345 1 year ago
@pigmeat40 you must learn what is direct cause and what is indirect cause. Medic who kills is direct cause, accident that did bring person to him/her is indirect one.
urmo345 1 year ago
@urmo345 I understand the difference. If you think th Peterson/ Savage crashes are equatable to Hulme's you obviously don't.
pigmeat40 1 year ago
@pigmeat40 They are because no one from all those 3 deaths wasn't directly caused by accident.
urmo345 1 year ago
@urmo345 Once again, I agree that the crashes did not directly kill these three.
But my point is, once again, they're not comparable because Hulme is dead before his crash. Savage and Peterson die from complications stemming from injuries sustained in their crashes. With or without a crash, Hulme would die from a heart attack completely unrelated to racing. Savage and Peterson would not have died when they did if it weren't for their accidents. Simple as that.
pigmeat40 1 year ago
isnt this when art pollard died in this race or was it practice?
chrishansen28 1 year ago
He was leading at the time of the crash...
dabluz1125 1 year ago
DID HE DIE?
jake99776 1 year ago
@jake99776 Yes, 33 days later from his injuries and contaminated blood he received while being treated for his burns. He also had a broken leg.
bagonmyhip 1 year ago
@bagonmyhip RIP,Sweede Savage.
vince065us 1 year ago
0:08 Looks like all is Left is the Engine! OMG, this WAS the worst Crash in Indy 500 History!! <:^P
Make that Last Crash at the End of the 2010 Indy 500 Look Extremely Close to being as bad!! <:^P
DiogNewmen 1 year ago
I remember this one an what a terrible year. Soon afterward the track was changed to get rid of that wall and change the pit enterance. That was a sad day for sure.
rpm324 1 year ago
You got to remember this, one of the STP crew members was strucked by a truck soon after that.
AutoRockinRacing94 1 year ago
@AutoRockinRacing94 I remember watching this live. If the tape had played on another 2 seconds,you would have seen the ambulance driving through the grass from behind the wreck hit someone running to the scene and launching him in the air.they replayed that on T.V. a few times too.
3244don 1 year ago
@3244don The 1973 race was not televised live in the U.S., but was shown live in Canada and parts of Europe.
However, the race that year (as was the case each year from 1971 through 1985) was shown (as an edited tape) on ABC-TV that evening.
altfactor 8 months ago
Holy cow, where is Swede? I can't see him.
KillerDreck89 1 year ago
F-Indy fuck!!!!!!!!
ZinaMcCrae 1 year ago
@ZinaMcCrae - fuck you
troll9555 1 year ago
I was 7 years old when this happened. I remember a d.j. on the radio announcing Swede's death and he stressed all young children to remember to wear your seat belt. That has stuck with me ever since.
22figure8 2 years ago
I remember seeing this on the news when i was a kid growing up in Dayton, Ohio. All they talked about was Salt Walther and Sweet savage.
hemi426bee69 2 years ago
I watched this whole thing throuugh binoculars from where my family sat for years in turn four.
Beside the motor, Swede was the biggest piece left on the track. He actually stood up, with pieces of wreckage hanging from him. I could see the heat waves around him, but not the fire- but by the way he was squirming around, I knew he was on fire.
A most horrible and unforgetable sight- I had no dreams of racing after.
It was about the end of Andy Granetelli's STP day glo orange cars then.
harponercam 2 years ago
I've seen Andy Granetelli the past 2 years at the Indy 500 riding around in the celebrity cars that tour the track before the race, but I think '73 was his last year at Indy being competitve. If it was I can't blame him...he had 3 drivers in the race: Savage who dies, MacRae's pitcrew man is killed in an avoidable accident after Andy G. tells him to help in the Savage wreck, and he had the winner Johncock...forget the fact that his former driver Art Pollard was killed before qualifying in '73.
pajasa62 2 years ago
1973 was a year to forget at Indy...add this to the crash at the start too.
WSBT960 2 years ago
"It is widely reported that Savage died of kidney failure from infection, but Dr. Steve Olvey, Savage's attending physician at Indy (and later CART's Director of Medical Affairs), claimed in his book Rapid Response that the real cause of death was complications related to contaminated plasma. Olvey claimed that Savage contracted hepatitis B from a transfusion, causing his liver to fail."
rva1945 2 years ago
Most people don't know this... but while running to put the fire out, a crewman was struck and killed by an emergency vehicle...
I still have the Chicago Sun-Times article from May 30, 1976.
mccorry 2 years ago
I saw that live on TV (ABC?)
I was 15 at the time
Autocad 2 years ago
holy shit
hellfire1858 2 years ago
he die?I believe what some peoples is lucky and can be alive after that or more horible crashes
tywis1 2 years ago
@tywis1
Yes... he died.
mccorry 2 years ago
Unfortunately for Swede, he didn't die instantly, though.
ewertjoe 2 years ago
He wasn't killed from the crash. He died in the hospital 33 days later. the blood he was recieving was possibly contaiminated with hepatitis B, causing his liver to fail, resulting in death.
Hlover01 2 years ago
@Hlover01 He did die from the crash. Even if the blood he recieved was contaminated, he wouldn't have had to get it if it wasn't for the crash.
YeLlPr 1 year ago
@YeLlPr But without the contaminated blood he might have lived. Who knows what really impacted in his death the most.
Hlover01 1 year ago
@Hlover01
rotten luck, at least he didn't burn to death - thank the Lord for that - I'd rather go like he did then say Roger Williamson same year at Zandvoort, Netherlands - watch that one - it was really screwed up
ratzinator1 1 year ago
Man you only see a crash like that once a decade, only few would have survived that.
Liam07Leo 2 years ago
Swede died July 2, of liver failure after contracting Hepititus B off of a contaminated blood transfution.
REST IN PEASE & GOD BLESS YOU SWEDE SAVAGE
pschaef 2 years ago
That goddam '73 Indy still gives me the creeps to this day, what with Pollard, Walther , and that Savage crash. Remember hoping like hell he would live and was saddened when he finally died.
84glewis 2 years ago
Thanks here
Feroum1999 2 years ago
Poor Swede! Rest In Peace
F1carlo 2 years ago
Yes he died about a month later. This was the first Indy car to have a built in fire extinguisher sytsem. Designed to go off on impact. Cause of the crash was was rear wing came loose. he had just taken the lead in the race too...
70Olds442W30 2 years ago
omg the car is ripped of in thousand of pieces. no chance for the driver, even the angle was quite bad.
RIP
UEBERSICHT 2 years ago
Savage, we love ya. See you in heaven
rafaelsccp 2 years ago 14
Driver is dead?
Feroum1999 2 years ago
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F1carlo 2 years ago
Yes, he died.
F1carlo 2 years ago
yes....
R10lemans 2 years ago
Oh yeah, Savage was killed instantly, in what has been often considered as one of the worst fatal crashes in Indy 500 history.
Doug4422 2 years ago
he wasn't killed instantly.. he died 33 DAYS after his crash. he was joking about it in hospital and y'know he died.
f3wbs 2 years ago
No way was he killed instantly! Have a look at the footage again Doug4422 and from one of the angles you can clearly see him trying to get out of the burning wreck of his car.
ghuk1 2 years ago
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mccorry 2 years ago
why is it that every fatel crash video on here is infected with idiots like Atari ?? it's unreal.
ProfessorIgor 2 years ago
I was at that race i was 13 years old and across from the pitts,sad he died from blood transfusions tainted blood after surviving that accident,remember man getting hit in pit row a sad day
cmcneill60 2 years ago
dumb blondes
dupersloby 2 years ago
Could you do it at those speeds? It is a 500 mile race, at speeds well over 100 miles an hour back in the day, it took it's toll on the cars. I'd like to see you try it!
9evilnine9 2 years ago
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Atari2600, Your last post is just anger & ramble! LOL! Does your mommy know you talk like that on her computer??
Go molest your sister you tick turd....
waltsa200 2 years ago
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Atari2600, How long have you been an uneducated dumbshit??
waltsa200 2 years ago
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hey if i'm not educated you dont exist. go fuck yourself
Atari2600Gamer 2 years ago
Atari YOU are uneducated and I do exist to your discomfort :). Ask your mother.. Now go polish the wheels on your house. You need to give up that bad habit you have, , , breathing!
waltsa200 2 years ago
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I have a blazer not moblehome go fuck yourself AND LEAVE ME ALONE YOU COCKSUCKER DUMBASS!!!!!!!!!!
Atari2600Gamer 2 years ago