Listening to sports talk this morning they’re saying that Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has been in a motorcycle accident this morning. There are no details available except that he was not wearing a helmet and they have shut off the stretch of road where the accident has occurred.
Not cool.
1225pm UPDATE – According to The Herd on ESPN Radio – Channel 4 in Pitt, witness says Roethlisberger went over his handlebars, into car windshield and hit the ground.
Witnesses are telling authorities that the player’s motorcycle collided with a car near a downtown intersection and that Roethlisberger’s head hit the windshield and was bleeding.
Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding.
One witness told KDKA television that Roethlisberger was conscious but appeared disoriented before he was taken from the scene to Mercy Hospital. A Steelers spokesman is at the hospital and confirmed Roethlisberger is being treated there, but wouldn’t provide additional details.
1235pm UPDATE – Another eyewitness report: supposedly went to turn so was moving slowly, face first into windshield, over the car and down, facial injuries and couldn’t tell EMT’s what city he was in when they arrived. Wow.
145pm UPDATE – Serious but stable condition. Was coherent going into surgery a half hour ago and did talk with a doctor.
“He was talking to me before he left for the operating room,” Jones said before the operation. “He’s coherent. He’s making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he’s very stable.”
210pm UPDATE – Pittsburgh Police have scheduled a news conference for 3 p.m. It will be carried live on ThePittsburghChannel.com.
220pm UPDATE – ESPN Radio is reporting an eyewitness account of a second vehicle cutting Roethlisberger off, causing him to lose control.
240pm UPDATE – WTAE TV4 out of Pittsburg: The bike and the car, a silver Chrysler New Yorker, have been towed to a police facility in Troy Hill for investigation.
The driver of the New Yorker is not believed to have been seriously injured.
255pm UPDATE – At Profootballtalk.com’s Rumor Mill:
A league source tells us that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has suffered a broken jaw and various “minor scratches” as a result of his Monday morning motorcycle accident. But, at this point, the team does not believe that he has suffered any serious injuries to body parts that would be used in the playing of football.
“He will have to be thoroughly checked but at this time he looks to be very lucky,” said a league source with knowledge of the situation.
305pm UPDATE – Uh oh.
According to a police source, Roethlisberger suffered a broken jaw, broke his left sinus cavity, suffered a 9-inch laceration to the back of his head, lost many teeth and has severe injuries to his knees from hitting the pavement.
A plastic surgeon has been called in, the source said.
320pm UPDATE – About.com:
According to published reports, Ben Roethlisberger was traveling on Second Avenue when a vehicle coming in the opposite direction turned left in front of him. Roethlisberger was unable to stop in time and hit the passenger side door and windshield of the vehicle.
I think it’s going to be a while before a definitive timeline of what exactly happened is available.
325pm UPDATE – The Pittsburg Tribune-Review has thurough coverage. (The site’s a little overloaded, though.)
335pm UPDATE – Art Rooney:
“On behalf of everyone within the Steelers organization, I want to express my concern for Ben Roethlisberger. I am sure Ben knows that we are praying for his complete recovery. So far, we have been encouraged by the early reports from the medical team at Mercy Hospital,” Steelers president Art Rooney said.
425pm UPDATE – On The Drive on ESPN 950 in Richmond – Roethlisberger hit the side of the car so hard that the passenger suffered minor injuries. He is still in surgery to fix his jaw.
430pm UPDATE: Post Gazette is reporting that the surgery is just for his jaw. They also have some words from Jerome Bettis:
Retired halfback Jerome Bettis, in California today, was keeping in touch with some people in the organization and said the reports he’s received are that Roethlisberger will be fine.
“First, it’s good to see he’s not in bad shape, as a friend, and to make sure he’s OK,” said Bettis. “Another good thing is it is minor enough that it shouldn’t affect him on the field this fall.”
They also have a brief statement from the driver of the car involved and some thurough coverage as well.
500pm UPDATE – Roethlisberger’s mother, Brenda, arrived at the hospital just before 5 p.m.
I’m probably done covering this for the day. For updates, check out the coverage at WTAE, The Post Gazette, or The Pittsburg Tribune-Review and keep Big Ben in your prayers tonight.