Ollie Millroy’s Wife Gives Emotional Health Update After Terrifying Racing Crash
The wife of British racing driver Ollie Millroy has shared a detailed update on her husband’s condition following the horrific accident that left him trapped inside a Ferrari engulfed by flames during a China GT Championship race in Shanghai.
Millroy suffered serious injuries in the terrifying incident and has since undergone surgery. His wife, Fern, who has remained at his side throughout his treatment, admitted that she still finds it difficult to believe he survived the crash.
The accident occurred during a China GT event at the Shanghai International Circuit when Millroy’s Ferrari was caught up in a collision involving two other vehicles. The impact caused the cars to spin and Millroy’s Ferrari was struck, with the vehicle almost immediately bursting into flames.
The intensity of the fire left Millroy trapped inside the damaged car.
In the moments following the crash, Dutch driver Loek Hartog stopped his own vehicle and rushed toward the burning Ferrari. Instead of continuing the race, the 23-year-old put his own safety at risk to help Millroy escape.
Hartog can be seen in newly released footage searching through the wreckage of the Ferrari in an attempt to reach the trapped British driver. He battled against the flames and damaged remains of the vehicle before eventually helping pull Millroy to safety.
His intervention has been widely praised, particularly because emergency personnel were not immediately visible at the scene.
Millroy was subsequently taken for medical treatment and later transferred to a hospital in Shanghai, where doctors began assessing the full extent of his injuries.
Fern has now provided another update on his recovery following a lengthy operation.
She revealed that the surgery, which took several hours, focused primarily on repairing Millroy’s badly injured right hand.
The injuries were extensive.
Millroy required metal fixation along the entire right side of his collarbone, while additional metalwork was placed inside his right hand. He also suffered six broken ribs, which are being supported with a compression wrap.
His lung was also damaged in the crash, leaving him dependent on high-flow oxygen while doctors monitor his recovery.
Fern explained that medical staff attempted to reduce his reliance on oxygen, but his oxygen saturation levels dropped too low for him to remain without additional support.
As a result, he continues to receive oxygen while his injured lung gradually recovers.
Despite the severity of his condition, Fern expressed her gratitude toward the medical team caring for her husband.
She described the Shanghai hospital as excellent and said that the family could not thank the doctors and other medical staff enough for the treatment Millroy has received.
Further X-rays and CT scans were scheduled as part of the continuing assessment of his injuries.
Fern’s latest message also once again highlighted the crucial role played by Hartog.
She said that she still could not fully comprehend how her husband survived the accident and attributed his survival largely to the Dutch driver who stopped to help.
For Fern, Hartog’s actions transformed him into what she described as a real-life superhero.
The rescue was particularly remarkable because Hartog was himself a competitor in the race. At the moment of the accident, he could have continued driving and focused on securing the best possible result.
Instead, he immediately abandoned his own race.
Hartog later explained that he had no hesitation when he saw the Ferrari become a huge fireball.
He believed that the driver inside would probably be unable to escape without assistance, so he instinctively stopped his car and ran toward the wreckage.
The young driver has repeatedly attempted to downplay the praise he has received.
Rather than presenting himself as a hero, Hartog has suggested that helping another person in such circumstances should be regarded as an instinctive human reaction.
His response has nevertheless generated widespread admiration from members of the racing community.
Following the accident, Hartog also spoke about the emotional impact of what had happened.
In a social media update, he thanked people for the enormous amount of support that had been sent to Millroy, his family and himself.
He said he felt fortunate to be part of a racing community in which competitors look after one another when something goes seriously wrong.
Hartog also expressed relief that he was heading home after the incident.
Although he said he was physically doing well, he acknowledged that the accident had left him with many thoughts running through his mind over the following days.
That reaction highlights the psychological impact that a major racing accident can have, not only on the person directly involved but also on those who witness it and become part of the rescue effort.
For Millroy’s family, however, the immediate priority remains his recovery.
Fern has continued to provide updates as doctors treat the injuries caused by the crash.
The road ahead is likely to be lengthy.
With multiple broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, serious injuries to his hand and finger and damage to his lung, Millroy will need considerable time to recover before he can think about returning to normal activities, let alone competitive racing.
The fact that he survived the initial accident is itself regarded by his family as remarkable.
The Ferrari was subjected to an enormous impact before becoming engulfed in flames, creating an extremely dangerous situation.
Millroy’s survival was made possible not only by the protection provided by the racing car but also by Hartog’s decision to intervene before emergency crews could fully respond.
Millroy has previously thanked Ferrari for building a vehicle capable of absorbing such a severe collision.
He also expressed sympathy toward his AAI Motorsport team and his teammate, who lost the damaged Ferrari as a result of the crash.
The emotional aftermath of the incident has therefore extended across the entire team.
The accident has also raised questions about safety and emergency procedures during the China GT event.
The race was not restarted following the crash, and organisers have said that the incident will be reviewed.
Officials are expected to examine the organisation of the competition, the availability of safety personnel, emergency response arrangements, rescue procedures and medical support.
Those questions have become particularly important because Millroy remained trapped in a burning vehicle during the initial moments after the collision.
AAI Motorsport has expressed strong concerns about the response.
The team criticised the championship for what it described as a failure to extinguish the fire and provide rescue assistance quickly enough.
AAI Motorsport subsequently announced that it would withdraw from the China GT event and said it would not participate in future events organised by the championship.
The team emphasised that the decision was based on driver safety rather than emotion.
According to the team, professional racing inevitably involves danger, and drivers understand and accept those inherent risks.
However, AAI Motorsport argued that accepting the dangers of racing is fundamentally different from accepting inadequate emergency protection.
The team stressed that the people trapped in the burning car on this occasion were its own drivers, but a similar situation could potentially happen to anyone involved in motorsport.
The incident has therefore become about more than Millroy’s individual recovery.
It has sparked a broader discussion about how quickly emergency teams should respond when a racing car catches fire and how effective safety systems need to be in protecting drivers.
For Millroy and his family, however, the central focus remains the same: getting him through the difficult recovery process.
Fern’s latest update provides a clearer picture of just how serious his injuries are, but it also offers hope.
Millroy is receiving specialist medical care, has already undergone surgery and remains surrounded by his family and medical team.
Meanwhile, Hartog’s actions have given the entire story a remarkable human dimension.
The two men were rivals competing for position on the circuit, yet within seconds, racing became irrelevant.
When Hartog saw the Ferrari burning, he stopped without hesitation and put his own safety at risk to help another driver.
For Fern and Millroy, that decision will never be forgotten.
The physical recovery may take weeks or even longer, but Millroy’s family can take comfort from the fact that he survived an accident that could have ended very differently.
And while Hartog may not regard himself as a hero, his actions have made an enormous difference to one family.
As Millroy continues treatment in Shanghai, his wife remains hopeful that the worst is behind them.
For now, the priority is healing his injuries, monitoring his lung and helping him regain movement and strength.
The racing can wait.
The most important outcome is that, despite the devastating crash, Ollie Millroy is still alive—and his family knows they have Loek Hartog to thank for making that possible.