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Wentz Airlifted from the US Championships

Ratfink

Ratfink

Monkey
Jan 29, 2002
152
0
SoCal
Steve Wentz of the Honda Turner team had a major crash on Friday during practice at the US Championships. Steve was airlifted on Friday to Washoe Medical Center in Reno (775-982-4100 ext. 106) with head and spinal trauma. Steve unfortunately broke four bones in his back (T7-t10), a fractured check bone and several broken ribs from the impact. I’m happy to report that Steve is NOT suffering any paralysis at this time and his outlook is VERY positive. Steve will undergo spinal surgery on Tuesday to repair the damage to his back. The cool thing is that Steve’s doctor is an Expert DH racer himself, so he’s obviously empathetic to Steve’s situation. I just got off the phone with Steve’s dad who told me the prognosis is two to four months of recovery with NO long term repercussions from the injury. I ask that everyone on this board please send all of your positive thoughts Steve’s way.



 
Motionboy2

Motionboy2

Calendar Dominator
Apr 23, 2002
1,800
0
Broomfield, Colorado
Thanks Ratfink! I just got off the phone getting all the info that I could about Steve.

Lisa Myklak told me that he called this morning and talked to the whole crew and told them all what they had to do in their race run. He is such a good guy. I feel so bad that he got hurt like this. Let him know we are all thinking about him.
 
Motionboy2

Motionboy2

Calendar Dominator
Apr 23, 2002
1,800
0
Broomfield, Colorado
Well Acadian I found out that the helmet is in tact but his goggles look as though they have been "run over by a skidding car". I don't know how but he managed to brake his face through the helmet.

On top of that he hit hard enough to crack his fork in two places..

I am sure I will get more calls with info soon.
 
dexterq20

dexterq20

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2003
3,442
1
NorCal
Motionboy2 said:
Well Acadian I found out that the helmet is in tact but his goggles look as though they have been "run over by a skidding car". I don't know how but he managed to brake his face through the helmet.

On top of that he hit hard enough to crack his fork in two places.
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:eek:

Holy crap, that's some scary sh!t. Hope he gets better and is able to start riding (relatively) soon.
 
TheInedibleHulk

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
Josh, wanna help me out starting a "buy steve an x-box" fund? Sounds like he'll be off his feet for a while. I'll find out from bama if he already has one.
 
H

Hrelp

Chimp
Feb 23, 2004
93
0
Ok from a newbie perspective I'm guessing he got injured in the first picture face went into the stem? How did that cause backdamage? Also looking at some redbull and big drop footage this doesn't seem that huge to cause that much damage? Tho i guess he landed fairly flat and lost alot of speed real quick? Anyone care to explain in furthe detail what happened here
 
Acadian

Acadian

Born Again Newbie
Sep 5, 2001
714
2
Blah Blah and Blah
Hrelp said:
Ok from a newbie perspective I'm guessing he got injured in the first picture face went into the stem? How did that cause backdamage? Also looking at some redbull and big drop footage this doesn't seem that huge to cause that much damage? Tho i guess he landed fairly flat and lost alot of speed real quick? Anyone care to explain in furthe detail what happened here
Click to expand...
the pictures above has nothing to do with this recent crash...those pics were taken a while back, the crash happened this weekend at Mammoth.
 
Matt D

Matt D

Monkey
Mar 19, 2002
996
0
charlottesville, va
Hrelp said:
Ok from a newbie perspective I'm guessing he got injured in the first picture face went into the stem? How did that cause backdamage? Also looking at some redbull and big drop footage this doesn't seem that huge to cause that much damage? Tho i guess he landed fairly flat and lost alot of speed real quick? Anyone care to explain in furthe detail what happened here
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You think you have to go Red Bull huge to F yourself up? You can brake your back riding regular XC trails not even going that fast, you don't have to be doing the biggest trick/drop/gap. :rolleyes:

sorry to be so harsh on a newb, but after hearing that someone got seriously injured and then saying 'you didn't even go that big' is rediculous.
 
P

Pedalist

Monkey
Sep 20, 2003
126
0
Clayton, NC
One of my buddies just had similar injuries. He broke his sternum one collar bone and cracked a vetebrae. He missed an off camber turn and fell of a ledge. It has been 6 months and he is riding beginner trails again. Which makes me hopeful for Steve, but like Steve this guy was on a pro level.
 
neversummersnow

neversummersnow

Monkey
May 24, 2002
889
0
Boulder CO
I don't know what to write but I will tell you this.

I was one of the first guys on the scene after Steve crashed and those images will stay with me for a really really long time. I wanted to walk away from the race right then and there. Just be smart, don't loose focus and keep in perspective what we're doing.

It shakes my world just because Steve IS the most talented rider I ride with.

I do have no doubts he'll be back better than ever thought.
 
Motionboy2

Motionboy2

Calendar Dominator
Apr 23, 2002
1,800
0
Broomfield, Colorado
TheInedibleHulk said:
Josh, wanna help me out starting a "buy steve an x-box" fund? Sounds like he'll be off his feet for a while. I'll find out from bama if he already has one.
Click to expand...

I will be honest with you I am not sure if he will want one. When I had surgery on my leg I bought some extra games for my Xbox before hand. I never played them cause I couldn't concentrate on anything with the med's I was on.

I think we should chip in for NetFlix for him. :) I wish I had that when I was busted up.
 
T0mo

T0mo

Monkey
Feb 12, 2003
434
0
nedtown, colorado
neversummersnow said:
I do have no doubts he'll be back better than ever thought.
Click to expand...

I agree, especially because of this:
Ratfink said:
I’m happy to report that Steve is NOT suffering any paralysis at this time and his outlook is VERY positive.....The cool thing is that Steve’s doctor is an Expert DH racer himself.....I just got off the phone with Steve’s dad who told me the prognosis is two to four months of recovery with NO long term repercussions from the injury.
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I've only talked with steve a few times and don't really know him, but I do know that he loves to ride so this shouldn't stop him.
 
G

Gun Show

Chimp
Apr 21, 2004
42
0
Southern California
I spoke with Steve this morning. He is doing as well as can be expected.
Tomorrow he will have rods put in to stabilize the area in his back. ( he has two unstable fractures and two stable fractures in his mid back) He broke his cheek bone, but the doctors said it should just heal on its own. The doctors say he should be able to walk the next day after surgury. Steve seems to think he will still make it to Interbike on Friday, It could be the drugs talking
but he is positive about his recovery.
 
dhtahoe

dhtahoe

I LOVE NORBA!!!!
Feb 4, 2002
1,363
0
Flying Low Living Fast
Acadian said:
I had just read about this earlier in the CO forum :( Get well soon Steve.

Did his carbon TLD helmet explode to cause the facial damage?
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OHHHHH Yeah... Henry O'Donnell and I were first one site. Had a real hard time keeping him still and on the ground. We were in the trees right above Steve waiting for our turn on those STUPID coffin jumps. We didn't see anything... but we heard the impact. We went down to see what happened. What I saw when I first got there made me want to cry. Steve and I have spent many summers riding at N* and it was VERY upsetting to see him like that. Glad he is going to be OK. Dude I will NEVER buy a D2 after seeing that helmet. I don't think it did it's job that good... I mean it kept him alive, but the chin guard didn't even brake, it just folded in and then popped back out.
 
Transcend

Transcend

My Nuts Are Flat
Apr 18, 2002
18,040
3
Towing the party line.
dhtahoe said:
OHHHHH Yeah... Henry O'Donnell and I were first one site. Had a real hard time keeping him still and on the ground. We were in the trees right above Steve waiting for our turn on those STUPID coffin jumps. We didn't see anything... but we heard the impact. We went down to see what happened. What I saw when I first got there made me want to cry. Steve and I have spent many summers riding at N* and it was VERY upsetting to see him like that. Glad he is going to be OK. Dude I will NEVER buy a D2 after seeing that helmet. I don't think it did it's job that good... I mean it kept him alive, but the chin guard didn't even brake, it just folded in and then popped back out.
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Not that I have ever been a fan of troy lee helmets for this reason, but isnt poppping in and back out much better then shattering and tearing his face apart with carbon shards? I's say it is...

That said, i will never get a TLD2 probably, as I have heard many horror stories as well as seen many exploded ones. This includes one that cracked after being dropped from waist high onto a marble hotel lobby floor....
 
mammothpunks

mammothpunks

Chimp
Sep 27, 2004
87
1
Mammoth
here is a pic of the coffins where he went down. i didnt see anything from up close but i could see them putting him on a backboard looking down from the gondi.

this pic was takin last year when they were first building them

 
Lady Litton

Lady Litton

Chimp
Oct 25, 2001
21
0
Bend
I was at the bottom when they brought him down. It was awful to see him in so much pain. I'm happy to hear the outlook is good.

Best wishes to Steve.
 
D

DHblur

Monkey
Jul 23, 2003
257
0
Arvada, CO
Steve seems to think he will still make it to Interbike on Friday, It could be the drugs talking
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Well the thing is, as of sunday morning when we talked to him, he was not taking any pain meds and that was his plan. The guy is strong plain and simple, so I really wouldn't be surprised.

It's really good to hear him in such good spirits though. When he called on Saturday and Sunday, all he wanted to do is talk about what we were all going to need to do to win our races. Definitely one of the most selfless people I have ever seen.
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
Damn True said:
Oh sorry.
Personal definition for jumps of dubious quality built in a shady fasion and in the wrong size and shape for the speed of the rider at that point on the trail.
The achronym stands for:

Team Big Bear Bull $hit
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Gotcha. It most certainly applies. I've never been to Big Bear but from what I've heard, those are at least pretty ridable. The ones at mammoth aren't even really that.......especially not at any kind of race pace.

It blows me away they let those things stand. When I broke my ankle there, I filed a complaint with one of the medics while I was icing my boo boo. She said those things hurt a few people every week. Gnarly terrain is one thing but those are NOT jumps. They are terrain features at best.........designed by someone who does not ride jumps.
 
Heath Sherratt

Heath Sherratt

Turbo Monkey
Jun 17, 2004
1,871
0
In a healthy tension
Yeah, I crashed there too, second run down the hill I tried hitting them at semi race pace and landed on the front of the second jump with my front tire. I went down straight on my head and hit pretty hard, that place was definetly dangerous. In durango they had a drop that was easier to hit than that section taken out because of injuries. Funny how they deem what is safe. The drop had a go around at least, this was just frustrating, oh, and the scheduling was awesome...go Norba.
 
Bikerpunk241

Bikerpunk241

Monkey
Sep 28, 2001
765
0
kidwoo said:
Do you know if he's going to be staying at his folk's place at northstar when he gets out of Washoe med?
Click to expand...

Steve will get out of the hospital around the end of the week. He's talking about being at innerbike if you want to see him, and then he'll be back here in boulder afterwards. As for the "X-Box", He's been told he can get on a road bike or trainer whenever he wants after surgery. Therefore, I'd say let's get him netflix!
 
kidwoo

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Aug 25, 2003
42,146
13,340
Squirtin ketchup n' mustard on charred flesh
Bikerpunk241 said:
Steve will get out of the hospital around the end of the week. He's talking about being at innerbike if you want to see him, and then he'll be back here in boulder afterwards. As for the "X-Box", He's been told he can get on a road bike or trainer whenever he wants after surgery. Therefore, I'd say let's get him netflix!
Click to expand...
I'd rather just catch him here. Thanks for the info!
 
TheInedibleHulk

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
Netflix is a good idea.

Mike, another piece of significanly less tragic bad news, looks like im missing the whole collegiate season thanks to this damn hand thing. I had surgery on it on monday. I thought it would be fine but I found out today I have to have a hard cast on it for four weeks. In two weeks I may see if I can get a new cast molded to a grip.
 
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