News reports are flooding in from all over the globe that seven time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has suffered a terrible skiing accident in France. During the course of the skiing accident Schumacher suffered severe head trauma and is currently in a coma, hospitalized in France. There have been conflicting reports from English and French news agencies regarding Schumacher’s consciousness and/or the fact that he has suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and that emergency brain surgery may be the only way to save his life. From scouring the various reports and sources we are confident in reporting that Schumacher is comatose at this time. There has been no confirmation on the reports of the cerebral hemorrhage.

The situation is so dire that the Agence France-Presse (think the AP of France) is reporting that immediate emergency neurological surgery may be required to save Schumacher’s life. It certainly sounds as though this may be severe enough trauma to have adverse effects on the remainder of the racing legend’s life, if he is able to survive through the next several hours. It is important to note that all sources (NBCSports.com, CNN.com, etc) are reporting that Schumacher was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.

Schumacher was skiing “off trail” at the Meribel resort that is located in the French Alps according to reports. He was alone and while heading down an unmarked trail he fell and hit his head on a rock. Schumacher was apparently discovered by first air workers a few minutes after his crash and was conscious when he left the mountain in the care of medical professionals on a helicopter. As closed head injuries are often lingering and difficult things to judge the severity of, all precautions were taken. Like many people who have suffered similar traumas, Schumacher’s condition declined to the point that we know it is at now.

Schumacher reportedly picked up the skiing hobby after joining the Ferrari F1 team in 1996. He quickly took to the sport and became a perennial winner of “friendly” races that the team would have during a yearly media excursion into the Alps. Various acquaintances are saying to outfits like CNN and others that he was pretty much “fearless” on the slopes and was a skier of amazing ability for someone who picked up the sport so late in life.

Update: It appears that Schumacher has actually HAD brain surgery. This report comes from ABCNews.com and says that the surgery was performed at Grenoble University Hospital Center in France. The nature and extent of the surgery is unknown at the current time. We’ll not make any assumptions on that front and await direct word from the hospital on what exactly happened in the operating room. His condition is listed as “very critical”.

Update: It is now being reported that Schumacher was not alone at the time of his crash. 

We will continue to monitor and update the story as more information comes to us.