Manitoba Man Misses the Mark While Snowmobiling in August
One would think that snow sports would be reserved for the winter, but many auto racers tend to be somewhat of rule breakers. A man from the rural municipality of Woodlands in Manitoba, Canada was seriously injured this summer after attempting a stunt on his snowmobile.
Less than two weeks ago, the Manitoba native attempted to clear an 18-meter (59-foot) space after riding up a 2.5-meter (8.2-foot) wooden ramp. He failed to make it. Instead, he collided with the receiving dirt ramp on the other side and was consequently thrown over the handlebars. The snowmobile landed on top of the man, causing serious injuries that required him to be airlifted to a nearby hospital in Winnipeg.
While we know motor sports are dangerous, it’s hard to exactly pinpoint how many injuries they cause annually. In a recent study, the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, published by the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, reported that of 758 patients who received medical attention at the selected trauma center between 1998 and 2015, the majority of spinal, lower extremity, and femur fractures were caused by snowmobile accidents, despite the number of patients suffering from snowmobile injuries (87) being vastly lower than those from ATV (308) or dirtbike-related (363) trauma.
In the U.S. alone, there are approximately 6.8 million bones broken annually from a variety of reasons, including sports. As for all of the broken bones in North America, it’s hard to pinpoint.
The injured rider in Manitoba reportedly suffered from a broken neck and did not require critical care while hospitalized in Winnipeg. He was an experienced amateur rider who was participating in the second annual “244 Throwdown,” a motocross and snowmobiling event held by professionals and amateurs alike.
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