Piquet with a creditable ninth after dodging the Peterson wreckage in the first start. Death of Ronnie Peterson At the hospital, Peterson's X-rays showed he had a total of twenty seven fractures in both legs, according to the newly appointed F1 doctor Sid Watkins in his autobiography "Life at the Limit" from 1996. After discussion with him, Peterson was sent to intensive care so that the surgeons could operate to stabilize the bones. There was some level of dispute between the doctors regarding whether all fractures should be immediately fixed or not. During the night, Peterson's condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with fat embolism. By morning he was in full kidney failure due to the embolism, and was declared dead at 9:55am on 11 September 1978. Post-race reactions As a result of the start line crash, a medical car would follow the cars on the opening lap of every Grand Prix. ABC Sports broadcaster Jim McKay who was covering the race said during the broadcast which was shown on Saturday "Later Peterson would die, but not until the next morning. Victory so long anticipated and so much earned, now tasted like ashes in Mario's mouth." A week later at the Michigan 150, Andretti was asked about Peterson and he said "His sincerity I learned to really appreciate that more than anything else and the man is competitive as he was with his skills and I found that this is something that many people in this business like because it's a very selfish business that's basis but he could share with me the basic of the car whatever he found, he changed something even if it was the better." Classification † Peterson suffered severe leg trauma in a multi-car accident but was otherwise conscious. However, while in the hospital the night following the race he was diagnosed with a fat embolism, of which he died the following morning as a result. Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. References External links Report and Results - Grandprix.com encyclopedia Italian Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix Grand Prix Italian Grand Prix