His car hit a stack of hay bales, became airborne, flipped and slid with his upper body exposed.
Christian, along with his friend Chico Landi, won the Mil Milhas Brasil race later that year with a FNM JK.
Heins was invited to race an Alpine M63 Renault in the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans and accepted, even though he was planning to retire.
However, five hours into the race, the engine of the Bruce McLaren/Innes Ireland Aston Martin DP214 blew up, causing 20 liters of oil to be spilled on the track.
Heins, who was leading his class at the time, was unable to avoid the wreck, swerved out of control and hit another vehicle.