Rhys Millen Backflip Crash

[2JSC]

I remember there a thread previewing this stunt... well it didn't turn out very well.

[ROSS]

sucks that the ramp let go before he got to the top..it would have been awesome to see him land it...

[dieselfuel]

yeah it was in the paper here in vegas the day before it was supposed to be done... too bad, i was gonna go see it live too.

[CarsonWyckoff]

I was waiting for it on new years, it was a bummer he couldn't do it. I was really hoping he was going to.

[GeneralG]

Man that sucks. Why did the ramp fail? Not rated to the weight of the truck?

[2JSC]

It was custom built for this jump, but there is no info on why it failed.

[Cloak]

It almost looks like he was coming up too fast and then let off the gas too soon.

[savageracer312]

my mom and i were watching probley after that when the aussie did the 322 foot jump and noticed that guy has a spray on tan, and thats too bad about him wrecking but hey shit happens

[CPE MT]

Since I can't get the link to work from RCC, here is the body of the post itself:

"I will try to elaborate a little on this since we responded to the accident. As Jesse said, they had landed the flip numerous times and were just doing some tweaking and adjustments.

The kicker portion of the ramp failed to collapse. This in turn put the truck into a wheelie position. It remained in that position throughout the flight. It did not over rotate or go upside down. The added launch of the kicker caused the truck to fly farther then the safety landing area. The truck landed on pavement, past the safety area (actually clipped the last portion of the safety on the way down), on its rear bumper.

We cut away a portion of the tube chassis to aid in extraction. We did this to avoid further injury to Rhys, not because he was trapped. It just made it much easier to get him out and not further injure him."

[smokinubyrc]

^^^ bad link

He ended up breaking his back on the landing

he will be back soon! and finish the flip with a better ramp!

[2JSC]

This was posted by Jerry Zaiden of Camburg Racing @ race-dezert:

I have talked to Tanner Rhys's room mate today. Rhys is out of it because of pain meds right now. He is on his way to a different hospital where he is in good hands for his injury. He has 4 fractured vertebrate all in the neck area. It is a compression fracture that is thought to be from the top tube of the roll cage pushing down on his head. His helmet has a crushed zone that matches a tube. The cause is just speculation not fact.
Rhys is getting the results of a MRI to see how bad the injury is or if he needs surgery. He has feeling and movement from what I have been told. They are just making sure there are no bone fragments in the spinal canal.
I will keep you guys posted of his condition. i will be visiting him tonight or in the morning.
Please keep Rhys in your prayers!

[2JSC]

And this was quoted from Rhys Millen by Red Bull:

RHYS MlLLEN QUOTE:
“After successfully landing the 360-degree backflip three times into the cardboard boxes in training, I am disappointed that our last jump ended in an accident. As I lay here in the hospital with three broken vertebrae in my neck and two compressed and broken vertebrae in my back, I am also disappointed that we cannot perform the 360-degree backflip at the Red Bull Experiment on New Year's Eve, but I'm happy that I will be able to walk again. I look forward to watching Robbie Maddison do his 300-plus-foot motorcycle jump in Las Vegas.”