Jason Priestley, an actor who also dabbled in professional racing, revealed new details about a violent practice crash from the 2002 season. He nearly died.
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Priestley appeared on the Inside of You podcast earlier this month, and he spoke about a crash at Kentucky Speedway in 2002. He hit the wall at nearly 180 mph in his open-wheel race car while practicing for the fourth race of his rookie season.
The crash occurred after his car lost traction in the compound used to clean up an oil spill. He tried to correct the car and get it back on track, but it shot into the wall.
Priestley, who has almost no memory of this crash, apparently died while being transported to the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Emergency services had to resuscitate him.
"I bled to death in the helicopter on the way to the hospital," the former Beverly Hills, 90210 star said on the podcast appearance. "I was flatlined when I landed on top of the hospital, and they restarted my heart on the roof of the hospital."
He continued and said that the medical professionals squeezed several bags of blood into him when they landed at the hospital, but his heart stopped again heading to the elevator. They then restarted his heart yet again.
The crash resulted in multiple injuries. Priestley sustained a concussion and he broke his back. He had to be treated for multiple other injuries, which included a fractured skull and his nose being "ripped off."
The actor-turned-racer had to go through an extended recovery period that lasted several months. He doesn't remember most of it, but his father took countless photos and created a booklet showing the progress.
And now 24 years later, he said that he has no lingering issues from this violent crash that technically killed him.
"I have no lingering effects from it," Priestley said during the podcast appearance. "My feet healed up perfectly. My spine is fused, and it doesn't bother me at all."
