...The date was May 23, 1999, a day I will remember forever!! It was a beautiful sunny Florida day and everyone was having a good time until the crash. There was a triple jump that I would estimate to be about 70 feet or better (funny thing is that since the promoter has filled it in he claims it's a 100 foot table top). Only a few A and Pro rider's were jumping it (barely) that day. There was a long straight away leading to the jump that made you think you jump it even at my age (36) you had to get on the brakes very hard in order not to hit it to hard.

This rider (Joey, owner of a local Honda dealer) was riding the 30+ class. As he approached the jump he was hauling. As he got closer to the jump he seemed to slow down and then at the last minute got back on the gas. When he hit the face of the jump it was obvious to him as well as those of us watching that this wasn't good. In the air he panic reved and at the same time sat on the seat.

The impact to the face of the triple was so severe that he literally appeared to snap in half backwards at about the middle of his back. It was the most gruesome thing I had ever witnessed in my 24 years of racing. The tone at the track changed in the blink of an eye. As word got around that he couldn't feel his legs, everyone felt sick. Once I found out that life-flight was on it's way to get him to the hospital as quick as possible, I, along with a few other riders went to the promoter to ask him to knock the jump out or flatten it. His response, much to my surprise was that Joey knew better than to try and jump that and that the problem was not with the jump but the rider.

I tried to organize a boycott for the rest of the motos but was unsuccessful. I then decided that I should also race since no one would follow me in the boycott. It turns out, very ironically, that I too would crash not on a triple but a double fracturing my ankle and foot. This just happens to be the same leg that I paralyzed in 1994 on a triple jump at a different track. The promoter, in his next newsletter, would only make a slight mention of the accident to say that riders need to know their limits and ability. If only promoter would stop and take the time to fill in the doubles, triples, and now quad jumps, people's lives would not change in the blink of an eye.

Sincerely,
Jim Edgar