Impaled! the gnarliest bike injury you’ll see all day

Dirt bike helmets are nice and open to allow plenty of ventilation and room for goggles, but what happens when a nice sharp branch exploits that opening? If you guessed the correct answer then you can probably also guess that you shouldn’t watch this unless you have a strong stomach.

Update: we interviewed the rider and have added eight pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ImuTpUYa-4

We just spoke to Mike and asked him a few questions about the accident:

Why'd you crash?

I have no idea, it wasn’t even a challenging part of the trail, just a simple mishap.

When did you realize you had a branch through your cheek?

I thought I only had a broken hand. I didn’t realize until my dad told me, when I got my helmet off.

How'd the helmet come off so easy, I woulda thought the branch would be in the way?

I have no idea… we can’t figure it out.

What first aid did you do?

Off camera we tried to pull it out, but realized it was in too deep. It wasn’t bleeding much so we didn’t wrap it or anything.

How'd you get to the hospital?

I sat on the side of the jeep trail for an hour while my dad rode out and drove the truck back in to get me. Then we drove straight to ER, with a few stops at friends houses to show off the stick in my face.

Did it hurt much?

I didn’t feel any pain. The only thing that hurt was my hand. I was talking the whole time with a branch in my cheek.

What'd they do at the hospital? How many stitches?

Took 3 hours to get to the ER at which time they provided immediate attention and sent me straight into surgery where they slit my cheek, removed the branch and put in 24 stitches.

What's it look like now?

A “Y” shaped incision on my cheek and swollen.

When did all this happen?

Wednesday March 23 at 2pm in Pine Valley HOV area, CA.

You going to have a scar?

I'm not sure if I will have a scar or not, but I really hope I do! It’s a sick story!

I think we have our first contender for the second annual Scar Off.

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