Finnish motorcycle team suffers serious accident on the way to Richmond

Elmeri Salakari’s Finnish team, which showed such promise in the Pingel Top Fuel Motorcycle Series opener, is regrouping after suffering a serious accident on Interstate 40 in Oklahoma earlier this week en route to the PlayNHRA Virginia Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park.

Crew member Ari Lapiolahti (nicknamed “Nitro Jesus”) was seriously injured and remains in an Oklahoma City hospital. According to Jaska Salakari, the racer’s father, Lapiolahti’s right foot was severed at the scene and his leg was amputated below the knee. He also suffered shattered ribs, a broken collarbone and possible shoulder injuries, and is at risk of losing several fingers. He has undergone several surgeries and will undergo several more in the coming days.

“But he is alive and is neither paralyzed nor has any brain damage,” said Jaska Salakari.

With the help of truck driver Hannes Köntti (alias “Hanski”), Elmeri Salakari, who had received training in first aid and trauma treatment while serving in the Finnish Army, used an extension cord to apply a compression bandage to Lapiolahti’s thigh, almost certainly saving his life.

According to motorcycle racing magazine Eat My Ink, racer Elmeri Salakari, a finalist at the Route 66 Nationals in Joliet, Illinois, and his father Jaska Salakari had stopped at Sam Wills’s Oklahoma City garage. Wills had loaned the Salakari organization a truck, and shortly after they loaded it up and headed to Dinwiddie, Virginia, around 5 p.m. (Central Time), they had their first minor accident.

The truck hit a bump in the road that caused so much trouble that the team had to pull over to the side of the road and fix the problem. Although the team took adequate measures to warn oncoming traffic, a semi-trailer truck came by and slammed full force into the back of the truck, leaving the truck inoperable and its contents destroyed.

Elmeri Salakari was also injured. He briefly lost consciousness on impact, but woke up in time to help his friend. However, he was later treated and released from the same hospital with minor bruises and a sprained ligament in his right thumb.

Friends have set up a Go Fund Me page to help cover medical costs. The link is:

Fundraiser by Elmeri Salakari: Salakari Racing – Ari Lapiolahti Recovery Fund (gofundme.com)

Jaska Salakari explained the situation in the following post on his Facebook page:

“Thank you for the hundreds of messages we have received over the past two days. We appreciate them. They have helped us survive these days.”

“(It is unclear) what really happened in the accident and what damage and injuries the accident caused. The situation is not good in any way, except that no one died.”

“The accident happened in a construction zone where the speed limit is 55 mph. The road was in really bad shape and had huge bumps. Hanski was driving the truck and noticed sparks flying everywhere behind the truck. The trailer was thrown from side to side on the safety chains and almost fell on its side. He managed to stop safely on the side of the road. Ari immediately said that this was a very dangerous place to stop and he and Elmeri moved the plastic cones that blocked the roadway up to the previous intersection before looking at how they could quickly rehook the trailer and continue on to the rest area half a mile away to investigate further what had happened.

“Hanski took a flashlight and went behind the trailer to warn other traffic. Elmeri and Ari went between the truck and the trailer to re-hitch the trailer. Hanski noticed that the oncoming semi was neither slowing down nor changing lanes and was going to hit the trailer, but he didn’t have time to warn his friends.

“Terrible blow and bang on the trailer, parts of the trailer filled with air and the road. Hanski thought both died instantly. First he called out to Elmeri, who answered thirty meters from the bottom of the trench, after that he called out to Ari, whose answer was not heard. Elmeri climbed out of the trench. They found something that looked like a clothespin and it turned out that it was Ari who was seriously injured. His right leg was missing up to the ankle, and Ari did not respond to anything. Before the ambulance arrived, Elmeri and Hanski put a compression bandage around Ari’s thigh with an extension cord so that he did not bleed out and provided first aid, which possibly saved Ari’s life. Elmeri had received thorough training in trauma and first aid during his service in the Finnish army, he did not panic or go into shock, although the situation was really chaotic.

“Elmeri tried to call 911, but Prepay cannot call 911. He called me at 5:09 am. I immediately understood from his voice that something really serious had happened. He said that a truck had hit them behind at least 60 miles per hour and everything had been destroyed. He and Hanski are alive, but there is no information about Ari. I asked him to tell me his location, which was 40 miles from my hotel. I left immediately. I got there and tried to get out of the car to see what had happened to my son and my two friends. The police wouldn’t let them out of the car and threatened to arrest me if I didn’t continue the trip immediately. I didn’t get any information, I had to keep driving. Just like in my worst nightmare.

“Elmeri was really not well. He had involuntarily lost consciousness due to the blow. Both shoes had slipped off his feet. They have still not been found. It is a true miracle that Elmeri was not very seriously injured or died. After a thorough examination he was able to leave the hospital. The injuries are superficial bruises and the ligaments of the right thumb are stretched.

“Ari was very badly injured. He is now receiving the best possible care at the OU Hospital in Oklahoma City. He has had numerous operations and will have to undergo several more in the next few days. At the moment his right leg is amputated below the knee. The situation with the fingers of his left hand is also very uncertain. The doctors are doing everything they can to save the fingers because he is left-handed. In addition, all of his ribs are shattered, cervical vertebrae and collar bones are broken, and there may also be serious injuries to his shoulders, but he is alive and is neither paralyzed nor brain damaged.

“Ari’s recovery is the most important thing now. He and his wife Laura need all our support now. The racing equipment survived the accident surprisingly well. After the race in Chicago we made a lot of good improvements so that we could also show how fast our bike is. The expectations were high and the feeling was great. Our team will need a lot of support so that we can take part in the two remaining races.”

Link to the video of the episodes:

(20+) Elmeri Salakari | Facebook