Indy 500 polesitter Robert Shwartzman crashes into pit crew, fueler stretchered to medical center

Indianapolis 500 polesitter Robert Shwartzman is out of the race after crashing into his pit crew during a pit stop. Shwartzman came in hot to his pit stall, and his No. 83 car rammed through several crew members.

Multiple members of Shwartzman’s crew took a direct shot to their legs. One had to be stretchered off pit road and wheeled to the infield medical center.

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The day started out so promising for Shwartzman, the first IndyCar Series rookie to qualify for the Indy 500 pole since Teo Fabi in 1983. Shwartzman explained what led to the pit road incident while speaking with Jamie Little of FOX Sports.

“I think I had a pretty decent start today,” Shwartzman said. “We were at the top and then our first pit stop, we had some issues, so I lost a lot of time and was in the back. I tried to battle my way to the front and then when it was yellow, I came in and honestly, my brakes felt really strange. When I was going slow coming to pit lane, I locked both front tires which usually is not the case.

“I wasn’t sure if it was the brakes or because the tires were cold. When I came back to my pit, I did not push, I tried to be really slow. As soon as I touched my brakes, both fronts just locked and just went straight into the guys. Luckily, nobody got really hardly injured. I think there’s only one guy that’s had an injury. Happy that everyone is fine.”

Robert Shwartzman a part of the chaos in Indy 500

It’s been an eventful day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with numerous pit road incidents. Earlier in the race, a fire broke out in Alexander Rossi‘s pit stall. Rinus VeeKay also crashed coming onto pit road.

Before the race even started, Scott McLaughlin crashed during pace laps. The Team Penske driver’s day was done before it even began.