Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, was injured when he collided with a Chrysler New Yorker while riding his Suzuki Hayabusa.
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 severely injured both of his knees when he hit the ground, police said.
An eyewitness interviewed by a news crew described the collision as one that occured after the car began a left turn but it’s unclear from the description whether it was a left turn across Roethlisberger’s path or what the relative direction of each vehicle was at the time of the accident, however another report says the car had damage to the front passenger fender which would be expected if the car had turned into his path. Left turns in front of motorcycles are extremely common as the cause of motorcycle and car collisions.
One report said the Hayabusa was a gift from Suzuki last year in return for appearing at a number of dealerships. Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, something the Pittsburgh Steelers coach had lectured him about before.
This type of accident where a celebrity is involved will bring out all of the usual brilliant commentary by the press, especially those who have never ridden a motorcycle in their entire life. Brace yourself.
UPDATE: The car was travelling west, Roethlisberger was headed east, looks like it was the classic turn across the motorcyclist’s path.
Link: Pittsburgh Live
Link: Brietbart.com via Drudge Report
Bob says
“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.”
Idiot.
Earl says
Riding a Busa without a helmet, the mind boggles… He could have saved himself all the head injuries with a $500 lid and the knee injuries with a $400 pair of leather pants, small change for Ben. I daresay he’s got some wicked gravel rash on the palms of his hands, too.
Well, there goes his pre-season.
hoyt says
I saw some of the ESPN Sport Center footage of the accident….
The bike appeared to be under an over pass in the shadows when it was on its side. I’m not making excuses for the other driver or Ben (and the shadow as being part of the culprit is pure speculation); but I’m using it as a reminder that we are “invisible”.
Remember your position from other drivers’ perspective. Add a shadow caused by a freeway overpass you are riding under to the list of things that drivers don’t look for….
The_Ogre says
What a f**king squid. Seriously, he was warned. For that matter he wears a protective helmet in his day job – do you think he’d ever take the field without it, or that any defensive player in the wrold weighs as much as a New Yorker?
Dork, totally.
doug says
from the link above:
“The motorcycle (Hayabusa) is popular among first-time buyers, said Steve Stiller, a salesman at Northgate Motorcycles in Cranberry, Butler County.
aaron says
I know it makes me a bad person, but I smirked when I saw this. earl said it all…
funny thing is, the old broken jaw/missing teeth routine is the first thing out of my mouth when asked about open face helmets. (actually, it’s the missing jaw routine…some photo I once saw) I guess Roethlisberger has something to be thankful for, he still has his spine AND his jaw. (and his life…)
note to self: call some motorcycle wreckers in Cranberry, Butler County if I ever want busa bits….
C.J. Luke says
Personally, I think “helmet laws” are stupid. Any law designed to “protect” us from our own stupidity are equally stupid. That being said…I ride a bike every day. It is my primary transportation, and every day…every time I get on the bike…even to go down to the corner store…I wear a full face helmet, armored gloves, armored boots, armored pants, and armored jacket. I don’t have a real problem dealing with the possibility that I might be killed on a motorcycle, but leaving several pounds of flesh on the road really sounds painfull.
I also don’t have a problem with those that don’t wear protective gear. I believe it is called “natural selection”. It’s their choice, and I think they have the right to do it. The network news report was all about “I told you so!”…but nothing about the circumstances of the accident. If he had been wearing full protective gear, he would still have been in an accident, and then the focus of the “NEWS REPORT” would have been “how stupid is it to ride a motorcycle”.
kneeslider says
Doug,
I noticed that “popular among first time buyers” line, too. Geez!
James says
Where are the calls for more driver training or increased penalties for drivers not paying attention. You never hear people calling for helmets for pedestrians when a motorist mows one of them over.
Mayakovski says
Riding without a helmet:
One Word:
IDIOT.
Riding without a helmet:
Four Words:
Your problem not mine.
aaron says
for C.J. Luke…. while I bemoan the lack of darwinism in humanity…
the helmet laws make things easier in many ways though… you can be safe, and not have to justify your “pussylike” behaviour to your friends.
freewill is an illusion before your IQ gets above 90…before that your choices are made by how you percieve others reactions. and the odds are that your friends would also have low intelligence in these circumstances, and all motorcycle wisdom would come from shows like “biker build off” (and indian larry’s misfortune would not have had any impact unless he showed up with a hole in his head, beer in hand, and said “helmets are cool!)
plus, with the crazy litigation in the states, how could you award damages in an accident? a gust of wind at a stoplight could dump an unsuspecting (unskilled) hick, anything leading to a head injury could be chalked up to those who caused it (for a few million). and with another judge, any injuries could be the riders fault without a helmet. (your honour, while my client DID ram the scooter into a concrete wall with his dump truck, the red goo in exhibit “B” could have survived- HAD he been wearing a helmet!)
plus, could pedestrians sue the rider for distress if you were splattered with blood from a head wound? for seeing a ghastly split open head?
for that matter, can parents sue the state for NOT requiring their little 16yr old bobby to wear a helmet? (on his brand new ‘busa, no doubt….)
plus every fatality will raise insurance rates for all riders….
C.J. Luke says
Hmmmm…is it ok for someone to be a mountain climber? How about someone that “free bases” (jump with a parachute but not from a plane)? What about someone that likes to go wild boar hunting? How about boxing…hockey…football…baseball? What should we do about those crazy people that “run with the bulls”? What about horse racing or steeple chase? There are a myriad of things in this world that people do daily/frequently that are dangerous. What about people that ride motorcycles? Just because we live in a litigious society, and/or just because the insurance industry will use any excuse possible to raise their rates, those things are not justification for forcing someone else to accept your estimation of what is acceptable and un-acceptable risk.
My personal standard is: when someone tells me that they are doing this “for my own good”, cry out “BULL SHyT” and run like hell.
hoyt says
lots of topics coming out over this discussion –
1. press – their b.s. continues to exist in the depths of tabloids
“that’s not news!”
Personally, I think photographing the older woman driver was lame.
CJ has a good point in his first post, too….the press would have spun it any other way if he had a helmet
2. Ben may have been able to walk away had he had a helmet – which would have saved 7 hours of surgery…. hours of a medical staff’s time should have been spent elsewhere.
3. rider awareness – not saying he wasn’t aware. Instead, this incident pointed out possible factors that make bad drivers worse (I will hopefully be more aware of cager’s vision being obstructed – For example, looking out for driver’s vision being obstructed by shadows caused by an overpass – even if that wasn’t one of the culprits to this accident)
4. was that sales guy justifiying why they gave Ben a Hayabusa ?
Is there a responsibility of the motrcycle industry to not sell bikes of this caliber to “first-time buyers” ? Legally no, but it probably would help the overall industry (buy a real 1st bike, then come in and trade-up if/when you want the higher performance bikes).
I’ve seen young a salesman trying to sell a GSXR1000 to a guy that said he was shopping for his 1st bike.
5. Stricter driver’s testing
6, Routine driver’s testing (not just for seniors)
GenWaylaid says
Now Ben can put all the money he saved by not buying a helmet into buying a new head.
Surely, in the interest of fairness, these sorts of accidents shouldn’t drive insurance rates up for ALL riders. Instead of mandatory helmet laws, we should have motorcycle policies that provide coverage only if you’re wearing safety gear at the time. If you’re not, the insurance company cuts the coverage to the legal minimum, hikes the deductible way up, or both. Some riders may need this explained to them with pictures, but it would at least be in line with auto policies that give discounts for safety features and medical policies that penalize for costly lifestyle choices like smoking. That way those riders who are determined to go helmetless or are terminally stupid would bear the entire burden of their unsafe behavior themselves.
coho says
I had never heard of him until he fell off his bike.
He chose not to wear a helmet (which, apparently, he wears at work every day). He got a helmet-preventable head injury.
Dumbass, serves him right.
Biker Betty says
I like what James said. Why when a bike crash makes the paper does everyone come out of the woodwork and decide what WE should wear and do!! And then they call us names. I do choose to wear all the gear, but that doesn’t make me better then the one that doesn’t. That is their choice. I do like that the odds are more in my favor for survival in a crash.
Wheelstand says
Quote from C.J. Luke:
“Personally, I think “helmet laws†are stupid. ”
I am not one for laws designed to protect me from me. However, this moronic quote merits an intelligent response. I support helmet and seatbelt laws ONLY because they help prevent taxpayers from footing unneccessary medical bills caused by uninsured/under-insured dummies who crack their skulls and need $100,000+ in medical expenses that could’ve be prevented by wearing a helmet.. The only way I’d be in favor of repealing helmet laws is if the helmet-less rider has a HUGE medical insurance policy. Either way, preventable head injuries cause medical insurance rates to go up, insured or not.
Free-basers? Hilarious. It’s “base-jumpers” and you can’t compare a thrill seeker with someone who is simply using a mode of transportation in a safe-as-possible manner.