ROME -- Paralympic champion Alex Zanardi was seriously injured in a handbike crash Friday -- nearly 20 years after losing both of his legs in a horrific auto racing accident.
Zanardi was transported by helicopter to Santa Maria alle Scotte hospital in Siena following an incident near the Tuscan town of Pienza during a national race for Paralympic athletes, police told The Associated Press.
He reportedly suffered severe head trauma.
Zanardi arrived at the hospital in "extremely grave" condition and after a quick examination was taken into the operating room for neurosurgery, which was still in progress, Giovanni Bova, director of the hospital's emergency room, said on RAI state TV.