After crashing during a practice lap at the Walt Disney World SpeedWay in Orlando and severely injuring his spinal cord, former Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt was told he would never be able to move his arms or legs again. The accident left Schmidt paralyzed from the waist down.
Nearly 16 years later, Schmidt was issued the nation’s first autonomous vehicle restricted driver’s license. After receiving the license from Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison on Wednesday, Schmidt took his modified black Corvette Z06 out for a spin using only the motion of his head, his breath and voice commands to control the vehicle.