I first learned who Jessi Lang was when “The J-Turn” series of videos she hosted hit the Motor Trend channel on YouTube. I watched the first episode, where David Freiburger taught her how to actually do a J-turn in a GT500 and a Challenger. Watching the video, you see a young woman who is obviously in love with her job and is enjoying learning everything she can about it. At the time, I was starting my third year of college and was envious of her position as I sat at my desk, flipping between homework and YouTube videos as I ate whatever poverty meal I had cooked up that day. Then, about September 2013, the episodes just stopped. I had stopped paying as much attention to YouTube while I was gearing down for the final stretch of classes in preparation for graduation. I never really gave it much thought as to what had happened, until I went hunting on YouTube and had this video sitting in my inbox from my subscription.
That September, Jessi had been involved in an absolutely horrific crash on a stretch of highway in Germany. She was testing an ABT-modified Audi R8 GTR at speed when a driver pulled into the left lane with no warning and no possible way to avoid an accident. In this video she explains, detail for detail, what led up to the fateful day, the crash itself, her time in the hospital recovering from a myriad of injuries, including life-threatening ones, and her ongoing recovery. It’s personal, it’s graphic, and it’s unbelievably powerful.
In this hobby, and this profession, risks have to be calculated into the equation. Automobiles, driving, racing…all of it is dangerous. While many advancements in safety gear and vehicle construction have reduced the risk, there are always certain elements that cannot be, and will never be controlled. Jessi learned what can happen when things go perfectly wrong, and instead of being defeated by her injuries, has fought tooth-and-nail to get back to what she loves to do. Her commitment, strength and determination to push past the injuries and return to behind the wheel is admirable.
We here at BangShift wish her continued success with her recovery and look forward to more of her work in the future.
I wish you well on your recovery Jessi, as I went through a long recovery myself upon retiring from the US Navy with pancritius,
Some of the best medicine I got was when I did a burnout in my 1974 Dodge D100 with a 5.7 Hemi in it at Wild West Rods and Customs when we were working out bugs on the truck. By staying close to the hot rod / racing community, it should help in your recovery as well as to be therapeutic for you.
I was wondering what happened to her- where she had gone. Best wishes on a long recovery.
She did not address the others that were involved in the accident- any idea of their condition?
Wow
Well..this video was posted yesterday for the first time,so its fairly New,and not old.That said,she will probably be sued for a lot of Money..cause according to the answers under the vid,she was not on the autobahn,when this accident happened.
That is an incredible ordeal she is going thru, glad to see her walking again.
This article http://fourtitude.com/news/video/video-motor-trend-staffer-injured-abt-audi-r8-gtr-crash-tells-her-side-story/ seems like a pretty fair independent summation of these events. Whatever happened, I hope Jessi, Bjorn, and the unnamed other driver all return to full health.
Did either of the other human beongs (you know, the kind with wifes, husbands, children, responsibilities – ya know – Lifes in other words) involved in this tragedy live ?
What is the extent of their wounds? No mention. Why ?
I wonder how she will deal with the demons when they come looking for her deep in the night ?
Darwin Never Sleeps.
Sounds like we’re hearing a one sided story here….read this article which gives a more balanced view… http://fourtitude.com/news/video/video-motor-trend-staffer-injured-abt-audi-r8-gtr-crash-tells-her-side-story/ as they state, there is a responsibility on the speeding driver to drive safely – it appears this woman was well into the 150 mph zone and the car she drove into was doing around 50 – also this was not an autobahn A road, but a B road with `unwritten’ speed limits of 80 mph…..