Breaking: Ben Roethlisberger in motorcycle accident... no helmet?

[Sava]

Just heard on sports radio...

no internet link or anything yet...

Apparantly it happened in a tunnel... they say he wasn't wearing a helmet. I don't know how bad it was.

He was just on an interview on Chicago radio earlier today I think...

Motorcycles + athletes - helmet = bad news

I hope he's not seriously hurt.

I'll post something when I find it...

[Sava]

link: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06163/697655-100.stm

Monday, June 12, 2006
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was injured when his motorcycle was involved in a crash on the 10th Street Bridge today.

Roethlisberger was injured shortly after 11:30 a.m. at the Second Avenue side of the bridge near the Armstrong Tunnel.

Steelers' spokesman David Lockett confirmed Roethlisberger was involved and is being treated at Mercy Hospital.

An eyewitness said she saw a motorcycle headed outbound on Second Avenue as a car was coming inbound. The car made a left turn toward the bridge in front of the cyclist. The motorcycle hit the car and the operator flew into the windshield and then hit the ground.

The witness said she went to the aid of the motorcyclist and asked his name. He said it was "Ben" and tried to get up, but she told him to stay still.

The victim was bleeding heavily from a head injury.

Roethlisberger has been known to refuse to wear a helmet when operating his cycle.

[Sava]

Apparantly, Ben's motorcycle and lack of helmet usage has been an issue in the past. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05127/500755.stm

I think the site is being flooded right now... the page isn't loading.

But they read a quote on the radio.

Ben said something to they effect of, "They make you wear a helmet in football..."

"The state of Pennsylvania doesn't feel people need to wear helmets..."

Pennsylvania doesn't have a helmet law for motorcycles...

Didn't Kelly Winslow get injured from a motorcycle?

In Chicago, former Bull, Jay Williams had his career ended from a motorcycle accident.


idiots


good news, despite the grim reports, they just reported that his injuries are not life threatening...

[SlowwHand]

Can always tell a rider that's never been down. No helmet.
Live (hopefully) and learn.

Roethlisberger serious but stable after motorcycle crash

01:06 PM CDT on Monday, June 12, 2006
Associated Press



PITTSBURGH -- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has said he dislikes wearing a motorcycle helmet, was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash and taken to a hospital Monday.

Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital, said Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition in an operating room Monday afternoon. He was talking before he went into surgery, Jones said.

A pool of blood was found at the accident site.

"He was alert and conscious," said Ernie Roman, shift commander for the Allegheny County emergency service.

Roethlisberger, 24, has said that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle. 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, Steelers coach Bill Cowher lectured Roethlisberger on 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."

The crash happened at an intersection at the edge of downtown.

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 helped guide the Steelers to the Super Bowl championship last season.

Calls to Roethlisberger's agent, Leigh Steinberg, were not immediately returned.

[OzzyKP]

[Datajack Franit]

No helmet=idiot

In non-stupid countries, the use of helmets is compulsory

[Arrian]

We like to allow people to be idiots in this country.

-Arrian

[DanS]

The use of a helmet is compulsory in the States as well... Yet if somebody's shooting for the Darwin, the law can't save them...

[Arrian]

Not in PA, apparently. And if I had to guess, I'd guess that it's optional in New Hampshire (of "Live free or die!" fame... err, live free and die?) too.

-Arrian

[DanS]

Well, the fact is that you could probably get away with not wearing a helmet in most states in the union. Although I am surprised about PA, if so.

[reismark]

You had to predict (at a karmic level, at least) that something like this would happen after that interview where he cried out against using helmets became public.

I wish the big guy nothing but a speedy recovery, but seriously, I hope he learned a lesson from this, and I hope the Steelers make him pay for said lesson.

[SlowwHand]

I think the majority of states now have helmets as optional. Another method for culling the herd of morons.

[chequita guevara]

I've known three people to have head injuries while not wearing a helmet on a bike in an accident. One had severe neurological damage and was basically retarded (I only knew him after the accident). The other two were never quite the same, even if they otherwise seemed fine. Their personalities were a little off. Whether that was from suriving a near death experience or neurological damage, I can't say.

Then of course there's Gary Busey, who became an über freak after his no-helmet crash, though he was always kinda weird.

[Japher]

I hear the driver of the car was a Bengals defensive lineman!!!!!!

[Dis]

Originally posted by Sava
Apparantly, Ben's motorcycle and lack of helmet usage has been an issue in the past. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05127/500755.stm

I think the site is being flooded right now... the page isn't loading.

But they read a quote on the radio.

Ben said something to they effect of, "They make you wear a helmet in football..."

"The state of Pennsylvania doesn't feel people need to wear helmets..."

Pennsylvania doesn't have a helmet law for motorcycles...

Didn't Kelly Winslow get injured from a motorcycle?

In Chicago, former Bull, Jay Williams had his career ended from a motorcycle accident.


idiots


good news, despite the grim reports, they just reported that his injuries are not life threatening...

who cares about life threatening, are they career threatening?

[Dis]

Originally posted by DanS
The use of a helmet is compulsory in the States as well... Yet if somebody's shooting for the Darwin, the law can't save them...

depends on which state it's in.

[asleepathewheel]

Indiana repealed their helmet law a few years ago. :shakeshead:

[-Jrabbit]

Originally posted by Arrian
Not in PA, apparently. And if I had to guess, I'd guess that it's optional in New Hampshire (of "Live free or die!" fame... err, live free and die?) too.

-Arrian

I always took the "Live Free of Die" motto as more of a threat...

...and no, NH does not have a mandatory helmet law.

[Dis]

Nevada has a mandatory helmet law. But they don't require full head helmest. A lot of Harley riders just wear those little helmet cap (that's what I call them- I don't know the official name of them).

here's a picture of one. They offer limited protection obviously. Though as hot as it gets here, I can't blame people for not wearing the full head helmets. Plus chicks can't get a good look at you when you wear those.

[MRT144]

why does he wear a football helmet on the field?

[Dis]

because he has to?

Are there still any hockey players out there who don't wear helmets?

[Asher]

I think helmets are required now in the NHL.

There's an ongoing controversy regarding requiring visors in addition to helmets, now.

[SlowwHand]

That's a half helmet, Dis. Sufficient.

Roethlisberger breaks jaw, nose in motorcycle crash

04:47 PM CDT on Monday, June 12, 2006
Associated Press



PITTSBURGH -- Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl championship, broke his jaw and nose in a motorcycle crash Monday in which he was not wearing a helmet.

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

The player's agent, Leigh Steinberg, described the injuries to The Associated Press and said he did not know if there was further damage.

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

Steelers president Art Rooney said the team was "encouraged by the early reports from the medical team" at the hospital. "I am sure Ben knows that we are praying for his complete recovery."

Roethlisberger, 24, was without a helmet, police said. He has said he likes to ride without one, a habit that once prompted a lecture from Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher.

Roethlisberger was between radio interviews and on his black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa - large, racing-style bike - and heading toward an intersection on the edge of downtown. A silver Chrysler New Yorker traveling in the opposite direction took a left turn and collided with the motorcycle, and Roethlisberger was thrown, police said.

The other car was driven by a 62-year-old woman, police said. They didn't immediately release her name and no charges were filed.

Witness Sandra Ford was waiting at a bus stop when she said she saw the motorcycle approach. Seconds later, she said she heard a crash, saw the motorcyclist in the air and ran toward the crash scene.

"He wasn't moving and I was afraid that he had died. ... He wasn't really speaking. He seemed dazed but he was resisting the effort to make him stay down," said Ford, who didn't realize the motorcyclist was Roethlisberger.

Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Kraus said police and homicide units were leading the investigation, a standard practice when there is an accident with critical injuries.

[-Jrabbit]

That bike -- the 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa -- is advertised as the world’s fastest bike for legal street riding

The Injuries:
Broken jaw
Broken left sinus cavity
9-inch laceration to back of head
Numerous ("many") lost and broken teeth
Injuries to both knees (reports differ on severity)

[Kontiki]

But at least he looked cool without a helmet on.

[Asher]

Now he'll have cool scars.

[Sikander]

He's in serious but stupid condition at a local hospital. Btw, I've known a couple of guys in their 20s who were crippled for life riding motorcycles, despite wearing helmets.

[Asher]

Driving a motorcycle is stupid.
Driving a motorcycle with the proper protection is less stupid.

It's still immensely stupid.

[CerberusIV]

If you have anything inside your skull worth protecting, wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. If not, don't. Simple as that.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by Asher
Driving a motorcycle is stupid.
Driving a motorcycle with the proper protection is less stupid.

It's still immensely stupid.

Get a tank and leave people alone.
Where's your opinion on bicycles? Airplanes? Walking?
Yes, no helmet is a sign of retardation, or the approach of it; but the next problem is arrogant dumbasses in vehicles who pay no attention to their surroundings.
I'm betting you fit the criteria.