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***DESCRIPTION*** At 11h30 on Wednesday, 14 May 1986, after a new rear wing was installed, Elio started for a few laps. Alan Jones’ Beatrice-Lola and Philippe Streiff’s Tyrrell were testing around the track. Suddenly at the entry of the Esses de la Verrerie, at the approximate speed of 270 km/h the Brabham pitched and violently crashed into the guardrails, being thrown into the air and landing some 200 meters further, on the other side of the track barriers. Possibly it happened due of the rear wing breaking. The wreck was lying upside down, then it caught fire and de Angelis who had lost consciousness was trapped beneath it. No marshals nor medical staff were in the place of the accident, only a couple of mechanics in the pits witnessed the accident. First to arrive on the scene was Alan Jones who stopped his car, followed several minutes later by safety marshals wearing T-shirts and shorts, equipped with small fire extinguishers. Then it took complete eight minutes to free the driver and more than half an hour for the helicopter and the fire brigade called from Marseille, to arrive. Elio was transferred to the Hospital de la Timone in Marseille in critical condition, having sustained serious head and chest injuries. 29 hours after the accident he died of cerebral asphyxia, at 17h15 of Thursday, 15 May 1986.
