Gordon Smiley Indycar fatal accident..?

Question

Grandma was there,she she said the truth is he was decapitated..is that true?

Answer 1

Here is a book excerpt from Smiley's wiki page:

In his book, "Rapid Response", Dr Steve Olvey, Indycar Medical Director between 1979 and 2003, made the following comments about the incident:

    "During an attempt to qualify for the Indy 500, Gordon Smiley, a cocky young driver from Texas, was determined to break 200 mph or die trying. Several veteran drivers...had warned him that he was in way over his head, driving all wrong for the Speedway. Smiley was a road racer and was used to counter-steering his car to avoid a crash if the rear wheels broke traction.

    While rushing to the car, I noticed small splotches of a peculiar gray substance marking a trail on the asphalt leading up to the driver. 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...I rode to the care center with the body. On the way in I performed a cursory examination and realized that nearly every bone in his body was shattered. He had a gaping wound in his side that looked as if he had been attacked by a large shark. I had never seen such trauma." (Rapid Response, pp 98-99).

I remember being at the Speedway that day. It was all pretty sad.

Answer 2

No, he was NOT decapitated.

Answer 3

There is a book you can buy at Barnes & Noble regarding safety crews.  It's written by a Safety Crew lead physician.  I wish I knew the name of the book & author, as I could recommend it to you.

This physician was one of the first on scene at the 1982 fatal accident.  According to his retelling of the story, Gordon Smiley was not decapitated by the accident.  Rather, the impact tore Gordon's helmet off, and he was more-or-less, scalped by the impact.  He had a significant section of his skull missing and was not found.

An unfortunate accident to a talented driver.  Unfortunately, there was nothing the safety crews could do to assist.  These are the risks even today's drivers take when racing.

If I can find the name of the book/author, I'll edit my answer her, if you'd like to read the book.