Thursday, June 24, 2010

JJ Lehto injured in Boating accident


Whale perhaps Y’all have already heard this... But ironically as I was getting ready to partake another voyage upon one of our myriad of Washington State Ferryboat’s to one of our numerous Islands... Along with having had the opportunity to go on a Boat cruise the same day, as I awaited my departure I was shocked to hear the news that former Formula 1, ALMS and 24 Heurs du Mans winner JJ Lehto had been involved in a serious boating accident in his native Finland.

Apparently JJ Lehto and a friend were navigating a small Canal in Tammisare, South Finland at a very high rate of speed at 4AM in the morning and failed to thread the needle thru the Canal’s extremely small bridge opening, as Lehto’s Speedboat struck the bridges abutment, subsequently throwing both passengers into the water in which JJ was able to swim to shore, albeit having suffered a concussion and broken ribs, while his late friend succumbed to injuries...

A sad story in Finland

Thus was it really nearly 20yrs ago that I first became aware of the likeable Finnish racing driver Jyrki Juhani Jarvilehto, when I snapped a pic of JJ’s parked BMS Scuderia Italia F1 racecar at Phoenix, Arizona. And eerily Bob Constanduros noted how it was JJ who along with 16 other journalists were spotted in Shanghai getting their Visa’s extended when the F1 Circus was stranded in China due to the Iceland Volcano’s eruption, as Lehto has been serving as a TV Analyst for Finland’s MTV-3 station since 2001...