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Reposted:

 

Source: Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

We don't normally paste the entire article but because it's such a big story, I'm going to use big pieces of the article from Mr. Fuoco here of the Post Gazette. Clipped from his article:

 

Doctors successfully repaired what they said were multiple facial fractures suffered in a motorcycle accident yesterday by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but no one would say how his injuries would affect his ability to play.

The 24-year-old quarterback, who was not wearing a helmet, was in serious but stable condition at Mercy Hospital after undergoing seven hours of surgery performed by a team of five surgeons.

Mr. Roethlisberger was injured in an accident at 11:10 a.m. as his motorcycle collided with a car on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge. Witnesses said his head hit the car's windshield and then struck the pavement.

Dr. Daniel Pituch, chief of Mercy's division of oral and maxillofacial surgery, said Mr. Roethlisberger underwent surgery for multiple facial fractures after being evaluated by the surgical team.

"All of the fractures were successfully repaired," he said.

Dr. Pituch would not elaborate further on the quarterback's head injuries. But he indicated that the quarterback did not suffer any other serious injuries.

"His brain, spine, chest and abdomen appear to be without serious injury and there are no other confirmed injuries at this time," Dr. Pituch said.

Dr. Pituch said he did not expect Mr. Roethlisberger's condition to change overnight.

Although his injuries were serious, onlookers said it could have been much worse. Witnesses said he twice struck his head -- on the car's windshield and then, after flying over the car, on the roadway.

Before going into surgery, Dr. Larry Jones of Mercy said that Mr. Roethlisberger was talking, was coherent and was cognizant of the situation.

The accident scene left little doubt that the late-morning accident in the Bluff involving Mr. Roethlisberger's motorcycle and a Chrysler New Yorker had been horrific. Metal was twisted like licorice. Windshield glass shattered. Blood pooled on the pavement.

Mr. Roethlisberger was riding a 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle outbound on Second Avenue when a 1996 silver Chrysler New Yorker driven in the opposite direction by Martha Fleishman, 62, of Squirrel Hill, attempted to turn left onto the 10th Street Bridge in front of the motorcycle.

Mr. Roethlisberger smashed his cycle into the car near the front passenger side. His head crashed into the car's windshield, shattering it and leaving a 6-inch hole. Witnesses said he flew over the car and landed on his head on the pavement. A pool of blood marked the spot long after Mr. Roethlisberger was rushed by ambulance to nearby Mercy Hospital.

A woman who declined to give her name said she saw the accident and ran onto the roadway to help the victim. She didn't know it was Mr. Roethlisberger until a reporter told her about a half hour later.

"That was him? Oh, my! He did say his name was 'Ben,' " she said, recalling that the injured man knew his name but was so disoriented he didn't know the city he was in. "I told him to lie down. He kept trying to get up."

Others who saw him likewise didn't recognize him because of the injuries he suffered and the large amount of blood that covered his face and head.

Among them was Sandra Ford, a Homewood writer and artist, who had just finished teaching a writing class at the Allegheny County Jail and was waiting for a bus on the Armstrong Tunnels side of Second Avenue. Attracted by the loud exhaust, she noticed a motorcycle approaching from her right ridden by a rugged-looking white man with curly hair.

"He was sailing, like he was enjoying the ride. He was going at a good clip but wasn't going overly fast," Ms. Ford said.

She said as he passed her, she noticed a car turning left in front of him. She said she expected the motorcycle to slow down or even have to slam on the brakes but was blocked from further view by cars traveling inbound. And then she heard a "crunching sound" and saw the motorcyclist fly over the car.

"He was a like a doll someone threw up into the air," Ms. Ford said. "I ran to the scene and he was lying on his back and wasn't moving. I thought he was dead."

And then the victim tried to get up but was calmed down by the unidentified witness and a man who tended to him until medics arrived shortly thereafter. She said she spoke with Mrs. Fleishman who she said told her, "I was watching him approach but he was not looking at me."

 

The Driver was in a NEW YORKER!

 

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