Alex Zanardi was discharged from the Siena hospital

The athlete was transferred to a center of excellence in the province of Lecco to continue with the rehabilitation. The hospital stay in Siena lasted a month

(Photo: Mauro Ujetto / NurPhoto / Getty Images) Alex Zanardi was discharged from the hospital in Siena where he was since 19 June, after being involved in a serious road accident on the state road that connects Pienza to San Quirico D'Orcia (Siena) during a handbike race. The former pilot was immediately transferred to a specialized center in Lombardy - the Villa Beretta in the province of Lecco - where he will be able to continue with neuro-rehabilitation treatments. This was announced by the same Sienese hospital that explained how the athlete's conditions and the normalization of the cardio-respiratory parameters have allowed the suspension of drug sedation and, therefore, the move to another type of structure. Zanardi's stay in the Siena hospital lasted about a month in which he underwent three major surgical operations: two to the brain and one to reconstruct the skull and bones of the face.

The dynamics of the accident

The damage reported by the sportsman, in the aftermath of the accident, was defined by the medical staff as "important" from a cerebral point of view, therefore the rehabilitation path promises to be particularly delicate and difficult.

On hwy 146 of the town of Pienza, Zanardi – engaged in an event of a non-competitive handbike “Goal flag” – was run over by a truck, which was traveling in the opposite direction to his. According to the reconstructions of various newspapers , the medium on which it was moving Zanardi proceeded at a speed of 45/50 miles per hour. The sport would have lost control of the handbike and would have been thrown against the truck. The handbike was thrown out of the way and the shot has made popping on the helmet. According to the testimony of Mario Valentini , coordinator of the paralympics for cycling, on-site, at the time of the rescue , Zanardi was in a state of semi consciousness . The prosecutor's office of Siena has already opened an investigation into the incident to ascertain the causes that led to the clash, and the manner in which it was organized the event, which was participating in the sport.