Any info on the injured rider from Saturday mornings lightweight practice at VIR?
Just to update you on the injured rider. His name is Dennis Crowley, he was life flighted to Duke University Medical Center. He has lost his right arm due to the contact with the guardrail, and has suffered a major head injury. As of September 28th he is still in a coma like state, and has not been conscious since the incident. His friends and family have been holding vigil at the hospital ever since. Currently he is in the Duke University ICU in Durham, North Carolina.
:'(Damn,damn,damn :'(
QuoteHe has lost his right arm due to the contact with the guardrail, and has suffered a major head injury.
No airfence or anything where he crashed? :(
nope - no airfence/tires/haybails....nada...just guardrail.
I hope they are going to take care of that problem for next year, have not worked at that track yet.
I hope he gets better. :(
Prayer's to him and his family......
I say we have an auction just to earn money for more airbags. ;)
Such a terrible thing. I pray he has a full and speedy recovery.
As for air fence, from the reports I've read he went down on the left side of the straight between T6 & T7 before the bridge. T6 and a portions of the straight have tires in front of the armco barriers, but the middle portion of the straight has bare armco on the left.
Can we be sure to get a sticky up here when a donation fund gets set up for Dennis. I still remember tooling around on a ysr - 50 with him way back in the day. Please pray for his recovery, every little bit helps.
:( Thanks to Bill D. fellow racers donated close to 3k. I'm not sure if Bill's still collecting donations. I'm still having nitemares over the whole thing. :(
That is so sad...I pray he is allright. Any idea why he crashed?? Will they fix the course to make it safer?? I hope to God he's going to be ok.
:'(
Prayers to him, his friends and loved ones.
QuoteAny idea why he crashed??
The thought is that he got bumped or tangled somehow with another rider. He went off in a real fluke area, one of those areas that virturally no one goes off as it is 80% the way down a straight. I don't even think AMA puts air fence at the place he hit. I worked corners for the event and the incident has really effected me. Please keep in your thoughts & prayers those who responded to the incident, even though we know what might happen, it still can have major effects on those people that had to see it first hand.
My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family and everyone else that was involved.
Huff, I've seen racing both as a worker and as a rider. I too have been on the corner for some serious airlifts, and while working a car race, had a crash happen right in front of me that led later to a fatality. You won't ever forget, but it WILL get easier.
Guys, this is what cornerworkers MIGHT face every time they go out to cover our butts. God love them, and the rest of us don't forget to wave. I've nearly been run over for slowing down after the checker and waving to the workers. Isn't it the least we owe them?
Good luck and prayers to the injured rider. There but for the grace of God, he could be any of us. I still believe that this sport is safer than street riding, but that sure doesn't mean it's safe.
Wow... What a life-altering event.
Prayers and positive thoughts to Dennis, his family & friends.
#1 - pull through
#2 - work on the healing
Wow, that is a shame. :( Hope dennis has a fast recovery.
Thoughts and prayers go out. :-[
UPDATE!! I just heard that Dennis is out of the coma.I think that mean's he is still heavely sedated but conscious. He is a member of MARRC so they will help out a little. One of his friends has aplied for the wegman fund. I'll try to keep up with what I know. Keep the prayer's coming.
I just read a post that states that Dennis is out of his comma. This is not true. I am with his wife and parents at Duke. As of the 29th he has not been awake since he arrived at the hospital. I am checking the message boards between visiting hours. We are going to have a web site up soon to allow those who wish to donate to his families new expenses. Also, we will be updating that web site with changes in his condition daily. He is in for a very long and difficult road. The current prognosis is "wait and see". The swelling on his brain has remained static for two days. I am hoping that the next CT shows a decrease in that swelling. Reading these posts of concern has been very comforting to me and his family.
Does anyone know Dennis's email address?
We need it to link the donation fund to his paypal account.
Any help would be appreciated.
Matt Richardson
Matt Richardson Is in contact and coordination with me and Dennis's family in NC. He is assisting in the establishment of the official fund and web site. Just FYI.
Our prayers ans well wishes go out to Dennis and his family. We all pray for a full and speedy recovery.
Mark and the Kegel crew.
God bless him. . .
http://www.helpdenniscrowley.com
njracer
GREAT NEWS!!!
According to the website he is speaking and cracking jokes and so forth.
Can anyone confirm this???
PLEASE!
I wish it had been that simple as of Oct. 3rd. I didn't even wake up till Oct. 7th.
Props go out to:
-My family for having what appears to be limitless energy to put up with the results of my absurd activities.
-My wife for being a soldier through this whole mess
- The as-of-yet unidentified spectator who saw the crash and ran and got the cornerworkers.
- Every racer who came to the hospital, sent a card to a guy they barely knew, or threw some money in the hat to keep my wife afloat. Your generosity allowed her to stay with me in the hospital, as the hotel tab was competitive with anything Led Zeppelin ever ran up.
- Fred Woods and Matt Richardson, two old friends, for putting in a huge effort to keep people informed as to what was going on and to keep my wife and family sane. I owe these guys enough beers that you'd be well advised to buy a few shares of Anheuser-Busch stock at first opportunity.
- The very imaginative guy at the prosthetics lab (an mx racer himself) who spent the time to put me together a new right arm that will allow me to ride again. 8)
- All the friends who pulled together for me, handling everything from cutting my grass and feeding the dogs to getting the bills paid and getting my crap home from the track.
- My employer, for not giving me any crap about "hurry up and get back to work."
- KBC helmets and Vanson leathers. Worked as advertised.
- Anyone at all that I've overlooked in the above. Reading the hospital reports it's crystal clear that I'm lucky to be here at all, much less coherent enough to remember every single thing.
Oh yeah- and if anyone has some firsthand knowledge of what actually happened I'd love to hear it. I've got no memory of that day at all. Basically as far as I know I drove straight into a brick wall for no reason- went to bed at Holiday Inn and woke up in ICU. I have ZERO desire to blame anybody. I just want to know WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? ???
Welcome back! ;)
Glad to hear you're back in the game!
Hey Dennis, It's good to hear from you. If you don't remember ,you pitted with us that day. I may have some info for you. weir881@earthlink.net
Back in the game? Don't let my wife hear you say that! :o
I have my doubts that I'll be able to race again, no matter how good an arm this guy builds me. Just doesn't seem safe to me. But I can still cornerwork and come around and mooch beer. ;D
Welcome back Dennis.
That day at VIR I didn't even realize you were back on the track already after the testing incident at Shenandoah. You're one tough dude. When I passed by you (not knowing it was you at time) just seconds after the crash, you were in really bad shape.
It's great to hear that you're really getting things back to normal.
Thanks for checking in Dennis. Glad to hear you're up and about. :)
Welcome back Dennis. Say, I'm right across the bridge in Cecil Co. if ya want a beer or somthing
QuoteBack in the game? Don't let my wife hear you say that! :o
I've seen a rider at midwest events who lost his right arm. He's taught himself to throttle and clutch with the left arm, and converted the rear brake lever to work the front brakes. He does this on a two stroke so he has less weight to throw around.
You're right. There are lots of ways to be in the game. Any of them beats staying home. Welcome back!
Good news!
If you can, drop Roadracing World a note too.
All to often, we hear about bad news. Your news is great news.
Great to hear that things have started looking much better than they did before...
Good to hear from you Dennis. Keep striving man. Enjoy your breakfast today. I'm sure it tasted better than mine... 8)
Very sorry to read about this accident. You seem like a very strong person and it is admirable how upbeat about this you are. Best of luck to you..
Happy to hear that your back Dennis. Hope all is well.
That is sooo great that you
are back dude!!!
Dennis:
Don't want you getting bored out there on the corners :D. Drop me a note and we can chat about working on staff.
Art
Well, I've got a SLIGHTLY battered '00 SV for sale.... ;D