Racing Dangers Become Too Real
Friend's death at Fairfield County event stirs man to quit

By Ann Fisher
Dispatch Staff Reporter

Nathan De Voss and his best friend, Ryan Delk, often discussed the dangers of off-road, motocross motorcycle racing - their favorite hobby - but always in terms of broken legs or arms, and always in terms of other people.

Yesterday, Delk turned the discussion inward as he prepared to attend the Friday funeral services for De Voss, 19, of Greenville, Ohio, who died of internal injuries incurred Sunday when he failed to clear a double-jump at an event in the Fairfield County village of Sugar Grove, about 85 miles southeast of Columbus.

"We talked about breaking a leg, about other crashes we saw," said Delk, also of Greenville. "But when we were talking about us it was different. We did it (raced motocross) half our lives. We just loved to do it. You always crash, I crashed every day."

But never again, he said. "Right now, I'm planning on selling my bike and never doing it again," said Delk, 19. "He was my best friend. We did everything together."

Details of the accident are unclear. Delk said track officials thought De Voss hit his head on the bike's handlebars when it came up short on the second of two hills.

Delk, who also was racing, said he talked to De Voss briefly before the Sinclair Community College student was taken by ambulance to Fairfield County Medical Center in Lancaster. He was taken later to Grant Medical Center in Columbus, where he died at 10:38 p.m.

"All he said was that he couldn't feel anything. Then he smiled a little bit," Delk said.

De Voss' father, David, said his son had run motocross - racing on a dirt track filled with obstacles - since before he could drive a car and was beginning to move up in the ranks. Nathan De Voss loved anything mechanical and was in the Chrysler Apprenticeship Program at Sinclair, where he was studying to be an automobile mechanic....

Rich's Response:  Unfortunately, this is another case of an amateur killed by a double jump.  If it was a table top, would the injuries have been less serious? YES.