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Subject: oh no :( Jack Roush in a coma..
Posted by: Fatal Image
- [35601219] Sat, Apr 20, 2002, 04:50
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- Jack Roush, the NASCAR owner who fields four Winston Cup cars, remained hospitalized in critical condition Saturday after the small plane he was piloting crashed in south Alabama.
Roush, whose 60th birthday was Friday, was being treated at UAB Hospital. He had been airlifted after crashing in a neighborhood in Troy, about 50 miles from Montgomery.
Roush arrived at the hospital at about 10 p.m. Friday, spokeswoman Tracy Bischoff said. She said she could not provide the extent of Roush's injuries and said he was being evaluated in the emergency department.
Roush Racing and NASCAR weere to provide details during a news conference Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, site of NASCAR races Saturday and Sunday.
The plane went down in a residential area at about 6 p.m., a dispatcher for the Alabama state troopers said. A newspaper photographer at the scene said the plane crashed into a pond in a gated community.
A resident of the neighborhood, Larry Hicks, pulled Roush from the wreckage, Troy Police spokesman Sgt. Benny Scarbrough told The Birmingham News.
Earlier Friday, Roush was at Talladega Superspeedway, about 45 miles from Birmingham, for qualifying for Sunday's Winston Cup race. All four Roush drivers -- Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch -- qualified for the race. The four drivers were at the hospital late Friday night.
Roush, known as the ``The Cat in the Hat'' for his trademark Panama hat, has been a Winston Cup car owner since 1988, running Fords for Martin that season. Martin has given Roush a pair of second-place finishes in the series points in 1990 and 1994.
During his time in NASCAR's top stock car series, Roush's team has won 53 races, including three of eight this season. He also fields cars in NASCAR's Busch and Craftsman Truck series.
Roush Racing is based at Concord Regional Airport near Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte, N.C. He owns three P-51 Mustangs, and frequently flies one of the World War II fighter planes.
Two Winston Cup drivers were killed in air crashes in the early 1990s.
Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 series champion, was killed in 1993 in the crash of a private plane on the way to a race in Bristol, Tenn. Davey Allison died when he crashed his helicopter on the Talladega Superspeedway property later that year.
http://wire.ap.org/APnews/main.html?SLUG=CAR%2dNASCAR%2dROUSH%2dCRASH
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What can be said? This truly sucks. Keep him in your thoughts and let's hope he pulls through. |
| 1 | KrazyKoalaBears
Donor
ID: 266182910
Sat, Apr 20, 2002, 11:19
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More info from Nascar.com: According to WBMA-TV in Birhmingham on Saturday morning, Roush was in an induced coma and suffered burns and two broken legs in the accident. It's pretty bad, but not quite as bad as if it were a non-induced coma. Doesn't it just figure that he's having such a great year on the track that something like this has to happen off the track? Here's hoping that he gets better quickly.
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| 2 | Fatal Image
ID: 35601219
Sat, Apr 20, 2002, 15:22
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Things are at least sounding better than they did at first. Here's an update where he was apparently alert and responding to the a doctor.
http://www.racingone.com/article.asp?artnum=13321
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Winston Cup Series team owner Jack Roush, who was critically injured in a single-person plane crash on his birthday Friday night near Troy, Ala., is alert and responding to doctor's questions. He is in critical, but stable, condition.
Roush's twin-engine Air Cam plane went down near Troy Friday night sometime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, then airlifted to UAB Trauma Center in Birmingham, where he arrived at approximately 10:15 p.m.
"He was celebrating in a style we would expect from Jack... with friends, flying in an aircraft," said Geoff Smith, President of Roush Racing. "Jack received serious injuries and is in critical but stable condition. He has suffered a closed-head injury, the most serious of the injuries, and we're very encouraged by the fact he is able to follow commands and respond to commands he is given.
"He has two leg fractures that are expected to be set this afternoon. We are told to be guarded about the head injury for the next 48 hours because head injuries can turn quickly.
Three of Roush’s Winston Cup drivers – Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch – were present at the hospital late Friday and early Saturday morning, as the owner underwent tests and evaluation. The team is in Alabama to compete in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 race at Talladega Superspeedway. Friday was Roush's 60th birthday.
"He had great color, but looked pretty beat up," said Martin. "That's really all I can say... Last night it was going to be 24 hours before anything could be determined... he's hanging in there under the circumstances."
UAB Trauma Center is a Level 1 Trauma Center, and hospital director of media relations Laura Mansfield said that's why Roush was brought to UAB.
"Mr. Roush is undergoing a whole battery of tests, which is standard procedure for anyone who has been critically injured as he has," Mansfield said. "Any time of the day or night, we have specialists in-house here to treat critical injuries."
Roush, who owns and restores planes, was flying his single-seat aircraft and may have hit some power lines.
Roush landed in a pond and may have been under water for several minutes before a man who observed the accident saved him.
"We'd like very much acknowledge Larry Hicks," said Smith. "Larry is the gentleman that pulled Jack out of the water and resuscitated him. Without him and the emergency personnel that responded to the call, we wouldn't feel as positive as we do now about the whole thing."
Smith said Saturday morning during the press conference at Talladega Superspeedway that he didn’t have any other specific details about the crash itself or what entity would be investigating the accident.
“We don’t know what airport he left from or where he was going,” Smith said. “We believe they were rotating aircraft as part of his birthday enjoyment. We don’t have any of the details of the airplane crash itself or the circumstances surrounding it, only that he was with friends that live in the Atlanta area, and there may have been other people they were visiting in Troy area.”
At 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Saturday, NASCAR CEO Bill France released this statement: "Our thoughts are with Jack Roush, his family and the Roush organization during this difficult time. Jack Roush is an innovator and leader in the NASCAR industry. His tireless efforts have helped the sport achieve the success it enjoys today. All members of the NASCAR family are praying for his recovery."
Members of the Roush Racing team practiced Saturday morning, and will compete in Sunday's event.
"We've all worked with a man that is totally driven, and we're all people that like to take care of our business," said Martin. "That's what he wants us to do and that's what we'll do. Our greatest concern is for his health... in the meantime, we will take care of our business.
“Everybody knows Jack’s got a tremendous passion for flying and for racing. What we need to be doing now is praying for Jack and going about our business. I guess I would say prior to the race, it’s going to be sort of hard to get in the mood. All of us, when we climb into the race cars, know what we have to do. We didn’t get here by being weak or scatter-focused. We’ll take care of business, and we’re more determined than ever before to do that.”
Smith said updates of Roush’s condition would be forthcoming throughout the weekend. Stay tuned to RacingOne.com for further information.
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