Indianapolis 500 rookie Robert Shwartzman‘s memorable month of May ended with a terrifying crash on pit road.

Shwartzman, who bested some of the best drivers in the world to win the pole a week earlier, was coming into his stall after 87 laps when he locked up his brakes. That sent his red, green and white car — the colors of the flag of Italy, where Prema Racing is based — sliding into four of his crew members, one of whom had to be taken away on a stretcher.

The damage caused by the wreck was enough to end their hopes of finishing “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“I honestly felt really strange brakes when I was coming slow in pit lane. I locked up both front tires, which usually isn’t the case,” Shwartzman said. “I wasn’t sure if it was the brakes or because the tires were cold. I tried to be very slow. But as soon as I touched my brakes, my whole front was lost and I went right into the guys.

“It was really scary,” Shwartzman said, “because at the moment I braked I was just a passenger.”

Shwartzman was among many drivers — rookies and veterans alike — who had massive problems on pit lane during the race, which was won by Alex Palou following a late-race pass of Marcus Ericsson for the lead.

Alexander Rossi’s day ended when a fire broke out under his car. Rinus Veekay lost his brakes as he entered pit road, sending him in a spin down the narrow lane. Colton Herta was caught speeding and had to absorb a drive-through penalty.

But none of the problems was quite as dramatic as the rookie with dual Israeli and Russian nationality.

Shwartzman had captured the public’s imagination with his stunning pole-winning ride for Prema Racing, a powerful European team but an Indy 500 newcomer. He was the first rookie to win the pole since 1983, then used the platform that it afforded him to make a passionate plea for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

“It’s just really sad,” Shwartzman said, “because we did such good work in qualifying. But it’s the Indy 500. Anything can happen. A lot of strong drivers are out of the race or behind. This is the Indy 500. This happens.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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