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Stirling Moss, 80, hurt in fall down lift shaft
Alistair Foster8 Mar 2010
Sir Stirling Moss was recovering in hospital today after breaking both ankles when he fell three storeys down a lift shaft at his Mayfair home.
The 80-year-old former racing driver also broke several bones in a foot and chipped four vertebrae after landing on a concrete floor.
The door of the lift is said to have “opened in error” allowing him to step in when the lift was not there.
He was taken to the Royal London Hospital on Saturday night and was later moved to Princess Grace Hospital in Marylebone. He was said to be “comfortable” today after having surgery on both ankles.
His family said in a statement: “The door to the lift, that should have remained locked if the lift was not on the floor that it was called from, opened in error.
“He stepped into the narrow open shaft in the expectation that the lift would be present for him to walk into, as it should have been.
“The family are very relieved that Stirling survived the fall, demonstrating that his body still has the same resilience to injury as it did in his racing days.
He is comfortable, following a good night's rest post surgery, and is well on the road to recovery. It is expected that it will take up to six weeks for him to recover.”
Lady Moss, Stirling's wife, added: “This was a very unfortunate accident; it could have just as easily been another member of the family stepping into where the lift should have been.”
Stuart Pringle, secretary of the British Racing Drivers' Club, said: “ Lady Moss says he is in good spirits and already complaining about the size and quality of the hospital breakfast.”
Reader views (1)
What a horrific accident.
I wish you a speedy recovery
- Malc, London,England, 08/03/2010 14:03
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