sad day for Pittsburgh

this morning, some 62 year old in a Buick New Yorker hit Big Ben while he was riding his motorcycle
he was going straight, crossing an intersection and she hit him while making a left hand turn
a witness that did not know who he was said int he police report that he appearred to be going "normal speed"
however, he was not wearing a helmet, something that has caused controversy among the team in the past
he went flying through her windshield, lost or chipped most of his teeth, broke his jaw, and BOTH his knee caps
there was no brain damage and he was talking coherently before surgey (which he got out of at about 9:30 at night)

I have three questions:
why the fuck would you not wear a helmet when on a motorcycle?
how the fuck do you hit someone while making a LEFT HAND turn?
and for the Steelers, what now?

 

I heard about that. He now says he believes in wearing helmets. Luckily the accident didnt kill him.

 

well, tis a sad day for football - damn good QB. i hope he can make it back, i really do. too young...

but i've seen many accidents when someone hit another taking a left turn. its not uncommon. i mean, i see tons of peopel cut through the lines, like they cut the turn in half.

 

that guy got lucky

 

yeah, I guess
but still, not seeing the other person and stuff?

the thing I really wanna know is, was she going against the light?
cause this happened right outside of the armstrong tunnels, and if I remember right, there are traffic lights there...


I'm sure he'll make it back into football, with the way shit is nowadays, artificial kneecaps are pretty advanced, the thing is, how long will it take?

it seems that the Steelers are pretty much fucked this season

 

she might have went against the light...he could have tried to make it before it turned red, but realized he wouldn't make it, so he slammed the breaks. she could have not been paying attention and tried to cut the turn down. i don't know nothing about what happend, only seen a little clip on the news...

but i dunno, for him to go through the windshield...someone had to have been doing something wrong for that type of impact.

 

someone has to be doing somethign worng for most impacts..
and 35 miles per hour (that is assuming he was going the legal max of 25 and she was going about 10 mph during the turn) is probably fast enough to throw someone's head through the weaker points of a windshield...

 

yea, see i didnt know all that...makes sense he went through the windshield then...

 

I truly feel for Big Ben and hope he is healthy again soon and back on the field.

That being said, I think he's a dumbass for riding a bike with or without a helmet. I am guessing that his contract probably has an opt out option for the Steelers for certain non-football related injuries incurred from high risk activities. Hopefully his injuries aren't career threatening, but if they are, the guy is fucked.

Look at others recently who have lost both their professional careers from motorcylce accidents. Jayson Williams the Bulls Point Guard, Kellen Winslow the Browns Tight End - both hugely talented players in their respective sports who had Hall of Fame potential and may never achieve it because of motorcycle accidents.

If I was making 5 mil or so a year, I'd certainly keep the bike in the garage until my playing days were through - at the very least I'd wear a helmet.

I don't care how much I enjoyed biking. Hell, skiing is my ultimate sport passion in life and I tone down the risks I take on the slopes in a BIG way because I know if I'm on crutches or can't use both arms, I'm out of a job.

I truly do hope for the best for Ben and that he's back on the field soon. I'm not suggesting its his fault he got hurt, but he was well aware of the risks riding a motorcylce - specifically without a helmet

 

I completely agree dhs
I actually feel alot more for the rest of the team, as he was warned not only by Cowher and other Steelers but also bitched at by Terry Bradshaw, and you would naturally assume family too, about not wearing a helmet
and I feel kinda bad for the woman who was driving too, because she just pissed off basically the whole city in which she lives in...

 

You're from Britain, aren't you? We drive on the other side of the road here....so left turn accidents are really common.

Unless, you're from the US and you are just confused and thinking of a right-hand turn...

 

wha..

no, I'm American, and I'm not confusing it at all

I can understand right hand turns alot more, you can see out the left much better, you should be paying more attention when you are making a left because youa re going into traffic

 

No major career threatening injuries. Face busted up pretty bad- but big Ben should be able to defend the Lombardi Trophy this upcoming season.

 

so confused.. isn't Big Ben a clock in England?

(ok.. kinda joking.. but only kinda)

 

OMG! The Steelers have been using an historic British landmark as their starting quarterback for the past 2 years????

I'm guessing that the issue of game clock management might be a foregone conclusion!

 

see, I'm not too sure about that
I've heard reports saying he broke both knees
I've heard reports that he injured both knees
and I've heard reports that he bruised both knees

his knees have been fucked up in the past, and he can afford whatever he needs, you can't be too sure about when he will hit the field, but I am guessing he will be back sometime this season

 

Peeked in on SportsCenter a couple times- as well as a few other reputable reports... the knee injuries are minor. His biggest problems are multiple facial bone breaks that required 7 hours of surgery to repair... and he lost or broke a number of teeth.

Regardless- considering he was not wearing a helmet, he's lucky the injuries aren't worse.

 

I sure hope not. They had suck a kick-butt season last year.

 

man...i burned a candle and prayed...poor cowher. i'm sure he's got one hell of a headache right now.

 

fuck him, I couldn't give a rats ass to someone that careless with their own life and lucritive career

who the hell doesn't believe in wearing a helmet, its common sense