I was at the oldtimers race yesterday with some friends and a guy went down pretty hard with severe head trauma. The copter came in and They cancelled the rest of the races. I know some of you guys attend those races regularly. Anyone know how the guy is doing? The were so many conflicting reports at the track I have no idea how he is. Just concerned and hoping he’ll be okay.
Man, not again.... I hate hearing this and hope they are ok.
Is it just me or does this seem to happen a bit more at Cahuilla compared to other tracks in So Cal?
It does but I don’t know why. It was on the Vet track which seems pretty safe and the ground isn’t rock hard. It sounds like 2 guys got together over a jump. I just hope he’s okay….looked like a young guy and not one of us old dudes
They had two helicopter rides in a row when I was there about two weeks ago or so. Then one about two weekends before when I was there. It's been noticeable...
What is the deal? I know this one sounds a bit different, but you being there is it something with the obstacles on the track, is it the speed of the track or is it just freak things that are just happening more often there?
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Oh no, sounds like it was a younger rider in the support class.
The majority that I see are the step-up on the main track, guys get a little sideways on it...it has a nasty knuckle on the landing. So they catch it, high side (that's a super fast section) and it's goodbye femur.
Vet track is either guys landing on each other or for a while it was the tiny step up coming up the hill, it gets a nasty kicker in it and they just backfill it instead of ever actually rebuilding the lip.
In general, their jump lips aren't prepped the best, there's always hidden kickers that just get the old back drag treatment.
Hmmm...any common factors?
I don’t know the area, but is it further away from a true trauma center than other tracks? With minutes being crucial during a trauma event, could that be why it seems to locals that they have more helicopters arriving for injuries?
By road it is quite a drive to get back into Temecula area for a Trauma center. They did have paramedics there rather quickly from what I’m assuming is a nearby fire station. They attended to him for an hour or so until the copter came in. My friends race was next on the line after the copter arrived and he was ready to go for his next moto when the starter told them the day was over. That’s when I got a sick feeling that things were not good. I’ve been going to these races since the early 70’s and this just makes me sick to my stomach. Prayers to his friends/family
This! Definitely a lot of hidden kickers on the jump faces they don't till it is deep as they used to so it looks good ontop but a hard base underneath! Lots of guys jumping next to people on the vet track! Absolutely terrible news!
Regardless of what happened, this is never easy to hear. Prayers to all involved/affected.
I've heard that they just default to the helicopter now as it takes so long for an ambulance to get there and actually get the rider to a hospital. And a helicopter is much more noticeable than an ambulance, so it just seems that there are more issues at Cahuilla than other tracks. Hopefully that's the case and everyone is ok.
I’ll explain how EMS is California works a little bit for everyone.
If someone sustains a “major” trauma injury and the trauma center hospital is greater then 30 minutes away via “ground” transport then EMS “should” consider air transport via “air ambulance.” Cahuilla is most definitely greater then 30 minutes away from any trauma center. Please understand that not all hospitals are trauma centers and therefore not all hospitals are equipped to handle major trauma injuries.
For this reason Cahuilla will have more air ambulance rides off of the track then other tracks that are closer to a trauma center.
One other thing to consider is how County EMS classifies major traumas. In San Diego County a major trauma is classified by any person who has had a positive loss of consciousness, altered level of consciousness, broken bone with deformity or loss of circulation, and up until a couple years ago any person over the age of 65 that had any type of fall was considered to be a major trauma. As you can see almost any hard dirtbike track crash will meet some of these criteria. The patient will always have the right to refuse any type of transport if they wish. For example, if I fell over and knocked myself out for a few seconds and felt OK when I came to I would probably refuse EMS transport and self transport.
Hope this helps understand why Cahuilla will always have more helicopters show up to transport people to the hospital then other tracks.
last time I was there about 6 months ago, there was a life flight for a non-responsive rider. Not sure why it always happens there
It must be like that in Texas too. Freestone regional had over ten helicopter rides(that I noticed) in three days.
and no I’m not exaggerating.
Cahuillas (vet) track is not dangerous anymore than any other moto track. Does it draw a lot of less skilled riders because it’s fun? Yes
RIP to the racer who passed, super sad to hear this
I will not jump that step up for that exact reason. I’ve seen so many people crash hard on that exact step up on the main track. I’ve crashed enough on those small doubles two turns before the step up 😮💨
Horrible news. Prayers to the family.
Only going to get worse with 80HP e-bikes. Bad enough with 60HP bikes.
Pit Row
An hour wait plus flight time for a copter is really long. The closest trauma center is in Wildomar. That's a little over an hour by ground. Maybe a little less with lights and sirens. Tough call on the ground. Sad news all around.
If it was support race, every chance it went from some dads proudest moment to worst nightmare.
Life is cruel.
Love and best wishes to all the family and friends.
Yup, I was there and racing OTMX on the vet track. It happened in the first "Support" class moto that i was in, although i believe the kid (i believe 17years old) was in the Support Novice class on a 125 which was 2nd gate drop. I was in Support Expert and we had a pretty full gate combined with Support Intermediate and we collectively had the 1st gate drop. Everything was normal until we were finishing lap 3, we came to the finish line section and there were a bunch of people standing on the first stepup double out of the corner waving their arms. We all checked up and rolled past the guy laying on the ground in the center of the track after the landing before the finish with 4-5 people around him. We immediately got the red flag on the finish line table afterwards.
I suspect the kid endo'd really badly on the stepup before the finish line because there was a pretty sharp knuckle right on the lip that was kicking us faster guys pretty sketchy off of. I'm hearing from people who saw it happen that the bike landed on his head and pierced through his goggles. I have gopro of me rolling by the kid, but out of respect i'm not going to post any of that footage.
Paramedics arrived with ambulance about 20 minutes after and were working on him till chopper arrived. It took what seemed like a half hour or so for life flight to arrive and the chopper didn't immediately leave after they loaded him up. It was truly a chaotic situation and they were fighting for his life.
Before the chopper lifted off, we had a rider's meeting and unanimously voted to cancel the racing for the day out of respect.
I'm hearing that the kid didn't make it and its heart wrenching. I'm sincerely gutted. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, track crew, and medics who did everything they possibly could to save this kid.
Had to get that plug in, didn't ya...
Hey Shitty, is that what you got out of Bryan’s paragraph ? Damn.
Anybody else mention what bike they were on?
Horrible situation, made even more nauseating... if that's even possible.
I don't want to say too much because Cahuilla used to be my favorite track, and the people that run it are great, but I, and everyone else I know, 100% agree with your last sentence. The bummer is that this issue could easily be fixed with a different prepper.
The kid had been racing a Husky 2-stroke, not that it matters. I’m just going off his previous results from the races leading up to this one and I did see a mangled husky loaded up. When I was driving out. Judging by the others in his race they were all going at a pretty good pace and this young man was towards the front of the pack. In previous weeks he had gotten 2nd and a first I believe. Even in novice class it is indicative that he knew how to ride pretty well. I could see the looks on most of the spectators that it wasn’t good. I am glad the guys called it quits for the day. I know some feel he went out doing what he loved but it is still so very sad when we lose a fellow moto brother. I was there spectating with my puppy and I cannot tell you how many nice conversations I had with total strangers. Guys trying to talk me into racing next time and how it doesn’t matter how well you ride but to just get out there and have some fun and they’ll watch out for me if I’m bringing up the rear. Moto people are all like family and it’s a great community we are all a part of. I gotta say I was seriously thinking of calling it quits after yesterday but I’ll let it sink in before making rash decisions. I my 55 years of going to races this is the first time a local rider lost his life when I was at the track. Thoughts and prayers to him and his loved ones
I was there. I usually soul surf motos at Pala on Mondays. A good friend told me about this race and I know the club is cool and fun. Planets aligned and hey, first race in bit. Lets go!
It was a funday until it wasn't. So much to say but, out of respect for the father who I just met 30 seconds before the accident I just want to say our hearts go out to the family. God Speed son. Fair well.
You would think the powers that be would learn after a couple incidents their prep needs attention. More than likely there is a rider that has some excavation experience that would be willing to work the skidder for an hour or so before practice to touch things up in turn for free riding.
Rest in peace moto brother 😢
They have to WAIT for an ambulance to get there? They don’t have one there on site for the duration of the racing???
I definitely noticed an increase in major moto accidents after the influx of new riders during covid. Around here those incidents have slowed a bit as guys have either left the sport or gained more experience. When I think vet track I typically think less experienced riders on the track. Not always the case, but also pretty common.
Post a reply to: Cahuilla Creek life flight yesterday. Anyone there?