Stirling Moss, Racing Legend, Injured in Freak Elevator-Shaft Fall

LONDON — Sir Stirling Moss, one of the all-time greats of the British or indeed world racing scene, was injured at home in a freak elevator accident. Moss accidentally stepped into an open elevator shaft and plunged three stories — but despite injuries to his feet, his family says, he's recovering comfortably in a hospital here.

In a statement issued on his personal Web site, the list of injuries is said to be "two broken ankles, four broken bones to his foot, skin aberrations and four chipped vertebrae," which required surgery — including plates and pins — on both ankles. Moss "remained conscious throughout" in the aftermath of the accident as paramedics came and he was transported to the hospital, the statement says.

The elevator, located in his home in the tony Mayfair district, should not have been accessible while the car was not in place. Moss' wife called it "a very unfortunate accident." The statement notes that the racing legend's "body still has the same resilience to injury as it did in his racing days" and says the 80-year-old should be recovered in "up to six weeks."

Inside Line says: It'll take more than a mere three-story fall down an elevator shaft to lay the likes of Sir Stirling Moss low. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent