Bruce Cook with his mother at Hamilton General Hospital Saturday, Jan. 4, 2013.
Image Credit: Facebook
January 07, 2014 - 8:38 AM
NITRO CIRCUS RIDER RECOVING IN HOSPITAL
KELOWNA – The video of Bruce Cook’s crash at the Nitro Circus event at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ont. on Friday is hard to watch. It’s horrific.
The stunt dirt biker was attempting a world record-breaking double flip.
In the video posted on YouTube you watch as he launches himself into the air off a giant ramp as the crowd packed into the arena cheer, but the landing goes wrong. He wipes out and is tossed like a rag doll. His twitching body slides down the ramp to be quickly swarmed by paramedics. The crowd’s cheers quickly turned to the applause reserved for injured athletes.
Cook was rushed to Hamilton General Hospital and it looks like he’s going to make it.
A picture posted to his Facebook page shows the Kelowna native recovering at Hamilton General Hospital with his mother at his side.
He suffered a severe spinal injury according to the Hamilton Spectator.
The motocross superstar says he’s blown away by all the messages and well wishes.
“I underwent 3 hours of surgery on my back,” he posts on Facebook.
He says both his mother and father are with him and his spirits are high. He expects to be transferred back home to a hospital in B.C. in a week.
The stunt Cook was attempting was a ramp-to-ramp double front-flip. Chatter on social media says it had never been done before.
He was part of the Nitro Circus Live North America Tour. It’s an extreme sport touring show.
Cook competed in the X Games in 2012.
The spinal injury has left his extreme motocross riding career in jeopardy.
Footage shot with a helmet camera of Bruce Cook at the Monster Energy Toronto Supercross Pit Party
To contact the reporter for this story, email halexander@infotelnews.ca or call 250-491-0331.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014