Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GATOR]

 mercylink@mercy.pmhs.org  <----  Hospital email for Ben ----                                                                     
    Roethlisberger hurt in motorcycle crash By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 44 minutes ago
 


PITTSBURGH - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was badly hurt in a motorcycle crash Monday and undergoing surgery. The extent of his injuries was not known.

ADVERTISEMENT

   
   
 
 
 
 
       
 
 
Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition, said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital.

"He was talking to me before he left for the operating room," Jones said before the operation. "He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he's very stable."

The 24-year-old Roethlisberger likes to ride without a helmet, a habit that once prompted coach Bill Cowher to lecture him on the dangers. It was not known whether Roethlisberger was wearing a helmet when he crashed.

The crash happened at an intersection at the edge of downtown at about 11:30 a.m. A pool of blood was still visible there by early afternoon.

Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Kraus said police and homicide units were investigating the crash, something standard when there is an accident with critical injuries. Kraus would give no details on the extent of Roethlisberger's injuries or if anyone else was injured.

Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch was at the emergency room. He had no comment.

A silver Chrysler New Yorker with damage to the front passenger fender was removed and Roethlisberger's bike was loaded onto a flatbed truck. Police were detouring traffic around the crash scene as onlookers and media gathered.

In only his second year in the NFL, Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl championship. He was 23 when he did it last February.

Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet. He has pointed out Pennsylvania's 35-year-old state law requiring helmets to be worn was amended to make helmets optional.

In May 2005, Cowher warned him about safe riding after Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was injured in a motorcycle accident. Winslow tore knee ligaments and was lost for the season.

"He talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."

Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.

Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."

___

[sober]

Read also that the car was traveling in the opposite direcion, and made a left turn.  The most common type of collision involving a motorcycle and car if I recall correctly.

I also thought that professional athletes had clauses in their cotracts that prohibited them from participating in risky activities....like riding motorcycles.

[VT-XS]

 
 
By Jill King Greenwood and and Karen Roebuck
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 12, 2006


Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is in serious but stable condition and underwent surgery following a serious head injury he suffered this morning when his motorcycle collided with a car on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge, police said.
Roethlisberger lost most of his teeth, fractured his left sinus cavity bone, suffered a nine-inch laceration to the back of his head and a broken jaw, and injured both of his knees when he hit the ground, police said.

"He is right now in the (operating room) undergoing some surgery from injuries he received in this accident today," said

Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma and burns at Mercy Hospital, Uptown. "He was talking to me before he left for the OR. He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened."

 
 
 

Roethlisberger, 24, who was not wearing a helmet, collided with a Chrysler New Yorker at 11:15 a.m. and was thrown off his motorcycle, flying head-first into the car's windshield "with a pretty good force," said a veteran city police officer.

Roethlisberger was talking and moving his arms and legs after the accident.

The car, which has Maine license plates, was heading west on Second Avenue and was turning left onto the 10th Street Bridge. Roethlisberger was driving east on Second Avenue riding a Suzuki Hayabusa and collided with the car at the intersection of the bridge and the Armstrong Tunnels.

The driver of the New Yorker, Martha Fleishman, 62, who maintains residences in Maine and Squirrel Hill, escaped serious injury, police said.

"She really feels terrible about what happened, and we certainly wish him a speedy recovery," said her husband, Martin Fleishman, who declined further comment.

Roethlisberger, who led the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship this year, slammed into the windshield, rolled over the car and landed on the pavement, striking his head again, said a woman who witnessed the accident.

The witness, who declined to give her name, asked Roethlisberger several times if he was OK.

He eventually replied, "My name is Ben."

He asked: "Where am I?"

"You're at the Armstrong Tunnel," the witness said.

"What city is that in?" he said.

"Pittsburgh," the woman replied.

Roethlisberger fell silent for about a minute and then tried to stand up.

"I'm OK," he said.

"No you're not," said the woman, who instructed him to stay still.

Pittsburgh homicide detectives are investigating the accident, which is standard procedure when critical injuries are involved, said city police Lt. Kevin Kraus.

Roethlisberger's 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa, which is named after a Japanese bird of prey, was totaled. The 170-horsepower bike, which weighs 500 pounds fully loaded, was targeted by law enforcement agencies worldwide after its 1998 debut because it could reach a top speed of 189 mph.

Suzuki Motorcycles of North America gave Roethlisberger the bike as part of a promotional deal in exchange for his appearance at several area Suzuki dealerships, including Andrews Cycle in Salem, Ohio, where he picked up the motorcycle last summer. Andrews' sales staff declined comment.

The motorcycle is popular among first-time buyers, said Steve Stiller, a salesman at Northgate Motorcycles in Cranberry, Butler County.

Roethlisberger said previously he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding motorcycles. Pennsylvania's 35-year-old law requiring helmets to be worn was amended in 2003 to make helmets optional, he noted.

In May 2005, Steelers coach Bill Cowher lectured Roethlisberger about the dangers of riding without a helmet.

"He talked about being a risk-taker, and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."

In May 2005, Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. tore knee ligaments in a motorcycle accident and was lost for the season.

Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident, and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.

Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."

Earlier this year, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to the NFL title, giving the team the fifth Super Bowl win they had been chasing since 1980

[jmdaniel]

because it could reach a top speed of 189 mph.

or three miles an hour faster than a stock C6 'vette..... 

[rod181]

Danm thats why u shoudl wear a helmet I know i wear  full face one cause i have already seen enough patienst with out noses or hell i cant even see what they looked like cause thier face is gone but i do hope he gets well. As for the sports clause I know in baskeball they have one where they can not ride a motorcylce or they will be fined a very hefty amount of money

[bIgPrO]

Well this will bring the helmet or no helmet debate because of his celebrity status..

[Dusty]

Well this will bring the helmet or no helmet debate because of his celebrity status..

I'll play Pete's roll. 

[bIgPrO]

Well this will bring the helmet or no helmet debate because of his celebrity status..

I'll play Pete's roll. 

    lol

[texasmetalwerks]

Bottom line, helmets save lives, period. Big Ben was lucky and we should all pray for his complete recoverey.

But on a side note. As a life long Cowboy fan I say screw the Steelers.

[cyberchick]

Was it known if he was speeding?

I hope he makes a speedy and healthy recovery.

[texasmetalwerks]

No he wasn't speeding.

[Dusty]

Well this will bring the helmet or no helmet debate because of his celebrity status..

I'll play Pete's roll. 

    lol

I changed my mind Paul. I temporarily forgot how damn big you are. Don't want you pissed at me. 

[rod181]

well from a medical point of view it can go both ways sometimes helmets do end up hurting you but then again most of the time they do save ur life so it can go both ways

[cyberchick]

well from a medical point of view it can go both ways sometimes helmets do end up hurting you but then again most of the time they do save ur life so it can go both ways

And sometimes seatbelts don't save your life but most of the time they do.  I'll take the most of the time over the sometimes. 

[rod181]

well from a medical point of view it can go both ways sometimes helmets do end up hurting you but then again most of the time they do save ur life so it can go both ways

And sometimes seatbelts don't save your life but most of the time they do.  I'll take the most of the time over the sometimes. 

I will have to agree with you better to have a chance then no chance