A French state prosecutor said on Sunday he was looking for an alleged cellphone video of the skiing accident that critically injured Formula One legend Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher's fall at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps eight days ago, in which he hit his head on a rock, has left the 45-year-old in a medically-induced coma for a severe brain trauma. Questions have emerged about the circumstances of the accident, and Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, said on Saturday that his family has given French authorities a camera that had been mounted on his helmet to help clear up the case.
CAPTURED ON FILM
Albertville prosecutor Patrick Quincy said French investigators were also taking steps to obtain a copy of a smartphone video mentioned in a report by German news magazine Der Spiegel. Quincy declined to comment further before holding a planned news conference sometime in mid-week.
Der Spiegel reported late on Saturday that an unnamed 35-year-old man had contacted the magazine claiming to have captured the accident on video while filming his girlfriend on his smartphone just a few metres away. The unnamed witness, described only as a 35-year-old flight attendant from the western German city of Essen, claimed Schumacher had been skiing gently between two ski pistes at no more than 20km/h before his fall.
The magazine didn't show the video on its website.
Nor did it claim its reporters had seen it; saying the witness had said he planned ed to hand the video to prosecutors.
Also on Sunday, Schumacher's brother Ralf and father Rolf returned to the Grenoble hospital where he has been receiving care.
Schumacher is the most successful F1 driver in history, racking up a record 91 race wins. He retired from Formula One in 2012 after garnering an unmatched seven world titles.
Schumi, as his fans affectionately call him, was famously aggressive on the track and no less intense off-hours.
In retirement, he remained an avid skier, skydiver and horseback rider. - Sapa-AP