Marussia car crashed during testing

if she hadn't hit the tail lift she would have hit the back of the truck anyway. so the accident didn't occur due to lack of visibility
 
Unless she was swinging round to turn the car and was going to run close to it but didn't realise it was that close. I guess we'll find out eventually when the HSE report is out.

Marussia boss John Booth said on Sunday that the team's test driver is no longer in an artificial coma and has therefore been able to speak with her family, including her father and former F1 driver Emilio de Villota.

"Her level of sedation has been reduced markedly," he told the Spanish broadcaster Antena3.

De Villota's sister Isabel is quoted by the Spanish media as saying the 32-year-old has "made good progress in the last hours" and has "left the ICU unit".

But she warned: "The coming days will be crucial for her recovery and to determine the extent of the consequences (of her injuries)."
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Marussia have issued a press release stating that the car has been examined and a technical fault has been ruled out. They haven't specifically said the accident was due to driver error, but that's obviously the implication.

Marussia F1 team has issued a carefully worded statement today saying that after internal and external investigations into the accident at Duxford this month which hospitalised Maria de Villota, a technical problem with the car has been ruled out.

John Booth, the Marussia team principal said, “We are satisfied that the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident.”

Although the report does not say it explicitly, the implication is that the accident was down to the driver. De Villota, the team’s test driver, who had just completed the first straight line aero testing run of the day, was manoeuvring at low speed close to the team’s test base off the main runway when the car ploughed into the back of a truck. The tailgate impacted with her crash helmet and she has subsequently lost an eye and had extensive reconstructive surgery on her face.

The Marussia team has forwarded the results of its investigation to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) which is responsible for all regulation of accidents in the workplace.

The team statement says, “Having carefully examined all the data and supplementary information available at that time, the Team were satisfied that there were no such car-related issues and cleared its chassis for race weekend participation.

Following its initial investigation, the Team proceeded to carry out further detailed analysis of the accident. An external forensic investigation was commissioned and carried out at Duxford Airfield (a FIA-approved and much used testing venue, compliant with the recommendations for a test of this nature) and with the team at the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury. This external analysis has been carried out autonomously of the team’s own internal investigation.”

Booth added that the team is focussed on De Villota’s wellbeing, “We have now concluded our investigatory work and can again focus on the priority, which continues to be Maria’s wellbeing. In that regard, we continue to support Maria and the De Villota family in any way we can.”
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http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/...-not-at-fault-in-di-villota-testing-accident/
 
It was a new car to her, so it was always entirely possible that she simply pressed the wrong pedal or something.

It was just difficult to state that without all the obvious 'woman drivers' comments that would follow.

It's good to hear that she is recovering well though.
 
I wonder if there's a possibility that she was on the pit limiter and accidentally turned it off. With a reasonably amount of throttle on, the car would have accelerated.
 
Sounds like a weak analysis to me (for a start, de Villota has driven open wheelers with clutch paddles). I'd expect better from Anderson. She was probably too busy steering the car away from team personnel in the two or seconds she had to see that the tailgate was down.
 
She has left hospital now -

F1.com said:
Injured Marussia test driver Maria de Villota has been discharged from Madrid’s La Paz University Hospital to continue her recovery at home.

De Villota, who was transferred from the UK to her native Spain less than week ago, sustained serious head and facial injuries in a testing accident at Duxford Airfield earlier this month.

“The patient’s general conditions are good, which allowed us to release her,” explained a statement on De Villota's website. “In the last six days, she has been treated by specialists of the plastic and neurological surgery services, and the ophthalmology department, who will continue to follow her, as she will need to undergo periodical checks and treatments.

“From a neurological point of view, the patient does not present any deficit and does not need any surgery. The specialists have made no special remarks but will continue to follow her in the forthcoming period of time.

“As a consequence of the serious trauma suffered, she will be closely followed by the ophthalmology service,” concluded the statement. “The specialists of the plastic surgery service will be responsible for following the serious injuries to her face and correcting the effects of those.”

De Villota had just completed an initial installation lap on her first Formula One test with Marussia when she collided a team support truck.
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Skeeter said:
Modern medical care is ******* amazing!
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You might want to check a picture of her before the crash (try the biographical article on wiki). It's obvious they had to make some compromises with the plastic surgery, she does look like a different person because of the facial injuries sustained.
 
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