Several athletes – including American star Noah Lyles – were caught up in a crash between two buggies at the World Athletics Championships, causing Jamaican sprinter Andrew Hudson to get glass in his eye.
Footage of the incident ahead of the athletes’ 200-meter semifinal shows the buggies colliding at a junction outside the stadium in Budapest, Hungary. Two pedestrians narrowly avoided being caught in the collision, while a volunteer fell out of the cart after the impact.
Hudson, the Jamaican champion over 200 meters, appeared to be in pain after the incident and later explained how shattered glass had got into his eye.
“I feel like it all happened in slow motion,” the 26-year-old said, according to Reuters. “Unfortunately, I was sitting on the side where another buggy crashed into us. I was directly impacted. They got most of the glass out. My eye is pretty blurry right now.”
The race involving Hudson and the other athletes on the cart, due to be the first of the men’s 200-meter semifinals, was moved to the end of the schedule.
Hudson finished fifth in a time of 20.38 seconds but was given a discretionary place in the final as a result of the eye injury. He was later sent to the hospital as a precaution, according to a statement from the local organizing committee.
“The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash has been given two days’ rest and the traffic rules have been tightened further by the organising committee,” the statement added.
“The previous speed limit of 19 km/h has been reduced to 15 km/h and physical separation between lanes on the routes has been introduced. From Friday morning, traffic marshals are on hand to help at intersections.”
American Lyles, who was crowned 100-meter world champion in Budapest last week, was also involved in the collision but said he was unharmed. He went on to win his race in a time of 19.76 seconds, the fastest of the three semifinals.
“As [the carts] just got closer, there was a miscommunication of who was going to stop,” Lyles said in an interview with NBC. “They both decided that neither of them were going to stop, so they just ended up t-boning right into each other.
“Thankfully, I had no issues. Unfortunately, Andrew Hudson did seem to get some glass in his eye which was the hold-up. I think everybody was really worried about him.”
The 200-meter final, which will also feature Americans Erriyon Knighton and Kenny Bednarek, takes place at 3:50 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday.