Scariest crash (including near crash) stories

The Rock
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HAIKU, HI US
8/22/2016 11:16am Edited Date/Time 8/22/2016 2:33pm
What's yours and feel free to include the ones that almost happened but fortunately didn't.

My scariest crash was probably Carlsbad 1990 when I fractured my pelvis. The injury went undetected for five years so that's not the scary part. The scary part was doing a sideways front nose wheelie going aro 45 MPH and having time to think "this is NOT good!" I over jumped coming off the Devil's Drop and my back wheel landed in a hole, bounced up sideways and there was zero chance of saving it. Landed on my left hip/butt cheek and I needed help to stand up from the flagger. Big divot in my elbow to where you could see the bone!

The one that almost happened was a near death experience. I was riding my SL125 Honda on the street in 1971 and decided to not shut off around this sweeping right hander. I had to be going 60 MPH and almost clipped a station wagon coming in the opposite direction. Not good and glad I survived being 15.

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TXDirt
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Plano, TX US
8/22/2016 11:28am
My bike bogged right over the finish line jump at Lake Whitney around 1992 or so. Fairly high speed jump, I went over the bars and got crushed into the ground by my bike. One of the few times I thought I was dying. My mom was filming at the time and caught the whole thing on video. Super wicked crash.

They wanted to life-flight me out but it was going to cost a fortune. Broke most of my ribs and overall felt like I had been beaten with baseball bats by about 10 guys. Went to local hospital which was mostly useless because we were sorta out in the boondocks at the time and they did not have the resources or equipment to even attempt to diagnosis me.

Get back home a few days later and heard a "knocking" sound in my heart. Went to doctor and he took a listen. When a doctor calls another doctor over and says "you gotta hear this" you know that's not a good thing.

I bruised the sack around my heart and the knocking sound was the heart beating against the swollen heart sack.

Doctor said they don't get to hear this sound often/ever because usually someone is dead from that kind of trauma.

Definitely one of my worst crashes. I've had others that but definitely ranks in the top 3 and may even be number one.
SCR
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CA US
8/22/2016 12:14pm
1982 Indian Dunes Shadow Glenn track 250 class. Get bad start. Ahead to my right someone hits the little berm that runs diagonal across the start from where the track re-enters on start straight and tangles with some other bikes. A red Honda shoots out of the mess and stops flat in front of me. Im in 5th and no way to avoid it so I figure I will hold it wide open lean back and use it as a jump. It seemed doable somehow at that moment. The front wheel took the hit pretty good I think but when the back wheel hit I went into a massive 50mph endo and was flying through the air head first arms out with a lot of bikes still behind me somewhere and I know that this is going to be the really bad one.

Somehow I land and do a perfect tuck and roll then start tumbling head over heals down toward the first corner. I hit the Honda just where the start straight goes down hill and didn't stop until the first corner. During the crash a felt bikes and riders hitting me in the head, back and everywhere else. When it stopped there where bikes and riders everywhere. I stood up and didn't have a scratch on me. I kept checking because I was sure I just hadn't felt the bone sticking out of my leg yet or something. Weirdest shit ever during the whole crash nothing even hurt it was like I fell off the couch. The other weird thing was my goggles and Scott face mask came off my helmet and couldn't find them anywhere, they disappeared. Scariest and weirdest few seconds ever.
moscrop940
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Temecula, CA US
8/22/2016 12:57pm
2001 Glen Helen.

Swapped right after talladega during open practice on a Saturday...I was 9, mayyyybbeee 10.

Anyways swapped right after the talladega single, as I was getting up a 450 was coming straight at me 4th pinned . At the last split second a dad pulled me off the track by my chest protector.

I can say with a full heart, if that dad wasn't there, I wouldn't be here. By far the closest I have ever come to lights out, on or off the track.

The Shop

tylermx967
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Athens, TX US
8/22/2016 1:52pm
THE FIRST TIME I EVER RIDE WITH TARE OFFS AT CYCUL RANCH ANTOHER BIG BIKE COVERD ME IN MUD AND I GO INTO A TURN WITH BIG BRAKING BUMPS AND TRY TO PULL IT BUT THE BIKE BARS GOD SIDE TO SIDE REAL FAST I REMEMBER AN I CRASH IN THE TURN.
The Rock
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HAIKU, HI US
8/22/2016 2:19pm Edited Date/Time 8/22/2016 2:35pm
Worst and scary to me are two different things. My worst crash (which I posted about in that thread) was over in a flash and nothing scary about.

Great stories so far. Keep 'em coming.

8/22/2016 2:35pm
1987 Central Village, CT. I was 17 in the 125 expert class on my DMC KX 125. whiskey throttled off the tabletop after the downhill. Overjumped it by about 50 feet to a flatland, nearly looped out in the air. Herniated L4 and L5 upon landing. Paul Buckley snapped a photo of the yardsale that ensued.
cable
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1177
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6/11/2008
Location
Rockford, MI US
8/22/2016 2:46pm
track worker was crossing the track on a quad. I was in the air on a blind downhill jump.. missed him..

8/22/2016 2:51pm
Many broken bones, but scariest was actually a near miss. Hit a big tabletop on a 450 4th gear and hauling, took a wide line close to the posts to line up for a following sweeper. Some idiot beginner had decided to stop on top of the table which was completely unsighted. My footpeg clipped his shoulder, couple more inches to the right he wouldn't have been walking again and I would have been in a pretty bad way also....a few expletives were shouted a long with hand signals.
mark1960
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AU
8/22/2016 3:11pm
Thinking back to the many crashes i had in the olden days, i can see the reason for so many horrific injuries nowdays.
In the 80,s crashes were for example " full throttle 3rd gear" the differnce nowdays is 3rd gear would be what, double the speed on a heavier bike as well.
Frightening.
8/22/2016 3:24pm
Two days ago, dude going the wrong way on the track while I was coming over a blind corner... Friggin morans
Torco1
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Corona, CA US
8/22/2016 4:16pm
I've pretty much been knocked out every time I've had a scary or bad crash, so fortunately I don't really remember shit. Having said that, the scariest near crashes for me are the ones where you almost plow into someone that has went down on the backside of a jump and you don't see them until you're in the air.
bh84
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Peterborough , ON CA
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1853rd
8/22/2016 4:19pm
My worst was at Motopark last summer. A little lesson for those who aren't into the quad scene, new quads have tip-over sensors that, when tripped, shuts the ignition down. Mine was bolted to the underside of the CDI. Unfortunately, that bolt came loose on me over the big 90 foot table at Motopark. As I came off the lip, the old girl quit on me and I jumped immediately. I flew 90 feet by myself, from over 20 feet up and rolled to the bottom of the jump.

I somehow didn't break anything, just got up and sort of hobbled away, I wanted to finish the race but the quad wouldn't start, so it was back to the pits for me. My parents said I looked just like Chad Reed when he had his getoff t Millville. Its really scary when you have a full 2 seconds to think about just how much this is gonna suck before you hit the ground.
Torco1
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Corona, CA US
8/22/2016 4:19pm
Two days ago, dude going the wrong way on the track while I was coming over a blind corner... Friggin morans
I almost killed a kid like that once. He crashed and when he got up he started going the wrong way on the track. He was riding up the backside of the landing of a jump just when I was going off the face of it. I missed him by inches.
8/22/2016 4:39pm
TXDirt wrote:
My bike bogged right over the finish line jump at Lake Whitney around 1992 or so. Fairly high speed jump, I went over the bars and...
My bike bogged right over the finish line jump at Lake Whitney around 1992 or so. Fairly high speed jump, I went over the bars and got crushed into the ground by my bike. One of the few times I thought I was dying. My mom was filming at the time and caught the whole thing on video. Super wicked crash.

They wanted to life-flight me out but it was going to cost a fortune. Broke most of my ribs and overall felt like I had been beaten with baseball bats by about 10 guys. Went to local hospital which was mostly useless because we were sorta out in the boondocks at the time and they did not have the resources or equipment to even attempt to diagnosis me.

Get back home a few days later and heard a "knocking" sound in my heart. Went to doctor and he took a listen. When a doctor calls another doctor over and says "you gotta hear this" you know that's not a good thing.

I bruised the sack around my heart and the knocking sound was the heart beating against the swollen heart sack.

Doctor said they don't get to hear this sound often/ever because usually someone is dead from that kind of trauma.

Definitely one of my worst crashes. I've had others that but definitely ranks in the top 3 and may even be number one.
That track was brutal back then. I think it was 88 or so at the Good Time National, so dusty in the second moto, I hit a hole I never saw on a fast drop off and went over the bars. It was first lap, only a 1/4 lap into the race and I was top 5 with a full gate. Somehow nobody landed on me or hit me.....bike was totaled but I had just a few bruises. Everybody thought I was dead. Damn lucky.
8/22/2016 4:40pm Edited Date/Time 8/22/2016 4:46pm
My scariest and worst crash wasnt on a bike, it was in a car. My friend was driving too fast and we caught air over a hill and when we landed the car swapped out of control. We hit a tree stump and the car flipped twice and into a wooden fence. A piece of the fence impaled my left arm on the inside of my elbow. It tore my brachial artery. It was spraying blood like a garden hose. I almost died that day and lost my left arm. Luckily i had a great doctor and saved both my arm and ultimately my life. My neck was also broken during this crash from the incident below. Its also a miracle Im not paralyzed.

My second worst crash was on a street bike. I hit stones going around a corner. I dont remember anything after that but I came to laying in a field with medics over me. I got a concussion and broke my neck, the C7 if I remember correctly.

My worst mx accident was in 2006 I had a brand new YZ250 and it was my first race on it. I was in 250 C. It was the 2nd lap and I was running in 3rd right on 2nd place and the leaders tail. There was this rhythm section that was 5 doubles long that I didnt usually have an issue with. Well I came up short on the first double which made me bounce weird and i cased the next one even worse with threw me straight into the air and i landed on top of my handles sticking up. I ended up lacerating my liver and spent 5 days in the hospital.
Stuntman949
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Location
San Clemente, CA US
8/22/2016 4:58pm
TXDirt wrote:
My bike bogged right over the finish line jump at Lake Whitney around 1992 or so. Fairly high speed jump, I went over the bars and...
My bike bogged right over the finish line jump at Lake Whitney around 1992 or so. Fairly high speed jump, I went over the bars and got crushed into the ground by my bike. One of the few times I thought I was dying. My mom was filming at the time and caught the whole thing on video. Super wicked crash.

They wanted to life-flight me out but it was going to cost a fortune. Broke most of my ribs and overall felt like I had been beaten with baseball bats by about 10 guys. Went to local hospital which was mostly useless because we were sorta out in the boondocks at the time and they did not have the resources or equipment to even attempt to diagnosis me.

Get back home a few days later and heard a "knocking" sound in my heart. Went to doctor and he took a listen. When a doctor calls another doctor over and says "you gotta hear this" you know that's not a good thing.

I bruised the sack around my heart and the knocking sound was the heart beating against the swollen heart sack.

Doctor said they don't get to hear this sound often/ever because usually someone is dead from that kind of trauma.

Definitely one of my worst crashes. I've had others that but definitely ranks in the top 3 and may even be number one.
The classic heart knock. Those ticker bearings get expensive!
Stuntman949
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Location
San Clemente, CA US
8/22/2016 5:01pm
Swapped on the freshly watered uphill at the second rendition of Saddleback. From what I understand, I ended up under a part of my bike, two other bikes and one more rider. My mom was working at Mission Hospital at the time so there was some shock and awe in the ER.
yak651
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6640
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8/26/2006
Location
Appleton, WI US
Fantasy
168th
8/22/2016 5:15pm
In '89 I was just starting racing. Racing 125 C class, there was full gates then so close to 40 riders. I pulled the first hole shot in my life, probably a little amped up from that and about 3/4 lap in I somehow crashed in a corner at a bottom of a blind hill. I proceeded to get ran over by just about everyone in the class, including like twice when getting up just to get ran over again. Flagger definitely not doing his job....My bike was trashed, totally bent up. When I get back to the pits my brother was nice enough to go to the trackside vendor to get me new bars, not to ride the next moto but so my bike didn't look so bad for when we got home as he knew my parents probably wouldn't let us go to another race if they seen the way it looked! (my parents didn't oppose us racing, but didn't support it and didn't go to the races with us).

Other one was three years ago. First ride of the season, not sure why but throttle stuck wide open. In 3rd gear going thru a mild whoop section, end of the section was a bermed/banked corner, bank about 5' tall. Go to set up for the corner and my bike is WFO and I hit that berm like a SX jump pinned....luckily I missed the big tree on the other side of it, but did take out a bunch of 2-3" diameter sapplings that somewhat broke my fall. Walked back to my truck, some people at the track pushed my bike back. After 1/2 hour or so things weren't feeling any better so asked people next to me if they could load up my bike (I was there by myself). Then crawled into my truck and had to ask them to shut the door as I couldn't close it thru the pain I was in...Drive home about 45 minutes, make it without passing out. Crawl out of the truck and get in the house and try to lay down in bed. Call my wife and tell her she might want to come home...my neighbor is a nurse, she stopped over around the same time as my wife and they come in the bedroom to look at me, I say I'm hurting and having a hard time breathing but should be ok, probably just a broken rib and dr can't do anything about that anyway. They don't agree with me but say it's my choice. After a couple hours it was really hurting so I ask my wife to take me to the ER. After waiting for ever they see me, take some x-rays and find out I have a bunch of broken ribs and collapsed lung - they are making me spend the night. Good thing I have an office job, out of work for a week but after that I was able to roll out of bed on my own and make it to work. Thought I was done (over 40 and have something like that happen), sold that bike (couldn't trust it after that as really couldn't find anything wrong to do that) but a couple months after that my wife could tell I was miserable so she told me to get another bike...Got one with fuel injection to eliminate worries of stuck throttles!
ktmdan
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1219
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4/1/2008
Location
Houston, TX US
8/22/2016 11:29pm
I took a helicopter ride to Parkland when my throttle got stuck wfo at Freestone. My dad didn't really believe that the throttle got stuck wide open until he rode the bike and it happened to him. He left a rut going up a single jump from jamming the front brake. His face was white like a ghost when he got back to the truck. One of the few times I ever heard him cuss. Needless to say the bike got a new carb, throttle cable, and throttle tube/housing the next week. That 200sx is still one of best bikes I've ever ridden.

My scariest near crash was during a XC race when I was 3rd tapped in the woods and ended up going straight toward a tree. I nailed the tree with my right bark buster. I was prepared to fly off my bike through the woods but the tree was dead and I basically exploded it like a bomb and stayed up. I really could not believe it.
adam8781
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670
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12/22/2015
Location
CA
8/22/2016 11:32pm
shatterd my pelvis and broke my back april 2nd.

already walking and back at the gym!
hillbilly
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9080
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8/16/2006
Location
Afton, TN US
8/23/2016 9:44am
Only been scared once. When i broke my neck.

When my head hit i instantly knew i was paralyzed. This before I stopped crashing.

As i laid on my back my faced turned left i could see my arm as it flopped and trashed without input. Couldn't turn my head to look at the other arm.

And my legs still felt like they were above my head twisted like the scorpion way I hit yet I knew they weren't. That lasted for hours.

As I lay there waiting for help my breathing got weird ,I knew the damage wa s high so I figured that was it,I was going to die laying there on my track.

Long story shorten,I miraculously shuffled out the hospital 8 or 9 days later,my insurance sucked so they wanted me gone once I got up to shower while no one was around.

I was glad to go. But ,I got worse at home and still thought i mite not make it till i started exercising.

Took bout 3 months to get strength back.

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