Pittsburgh – Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger, the youngest quarterback to lead a team to the Super Bowl championship, broke his jaw and nose in a motorcycle crash today and underwent surgery.
Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition this afternoon, said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital.
The player’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, described the injuries to The Associated Press and said he did not know if there was further damage.
“He was talking to me before he left for the operating room,” Jones said. “He’s coherent. He’s making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he’s very stable.” Steelers president Art Rooney said the team was “encouraged by the early reports from the medical team” at the hospital.
“I am sure Ben knows that we are praying for his complete recovery,” he said.
The 24-year-old Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet, Pittsburgh police said. He has said he likes to ride without one, a habit that once prompted a lecture from Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher.
Roethlisberger was on his black 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa traveling east on 2nd Avenue toward an intersection at the edge of downtown at about 11:10 a.m., police said. A silver Chrysler New Yorker traveling in the opposite direction took a left hand turn and collided with the motorcycle, and Roethlisberger was thrown from the bike, police said.
The other car was driven by a 62-year-old woman who maintains homes in both Maine and Pittsburgh, police said. They didn’t immediately release her name and no charges were filed.
Sandra Ford, of Pittsburgh, was waiting at a bus stop nearby when she said she saw the motorcycle approach the intersection.
Seconds later, she said she heard a crash, saw the motorcyclist in the air and ran toward the crash scene.
“He wasn’t moving and I was afraid that he had died … He wasn’t really speaking. He seemed dazed but he was resisting the effort to make him stay down,” said Ford, who didn’t realize the motorcyclist was Roethlisberger until she went home later and turned on the TV.
Authorities said the investigation into the crash was continuing. Police spokesman Lt. Kevin Kraus said police and homicide units were leading the investigation, a standard practice when there is an accident with critical injuries. He gave no details on whether anyone else was hurt.
In only his second year in the NFL, Roethlisberger helped guide the Steelers to the Super Bowl title in February at age 23.
Training camp for next season begins at the end of July.
Several teammates, including backup quarterback Charlie Batch, linebacker Joey Porter and safety Mike Logan, arrived at the hospital emergency room but did not comment.
Some fans also gathered at the hospital, including Juanita Clark, who sells Steelers’ paraphernalia, and her daughter.
“I just feel like he’s a family member,” Loretta Clark said.
Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle. He has pointed out Pennsylvania’s state law requiring helmets to be worn was repealed in September 2003.
In May 2005, Cowher warned him about safe riding after Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was injured in a motorcycle accident.
Winslow tore knee ligaments and was lost for the season.
“He talked about being a risk-taker and I’m not really a risk-taker. I’m pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful,” Roethlisberger said at the time.
“I’ll just continue to be careful. I told him we don’t ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe.” Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow’s accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.
Visiting the Steelers’ training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: “Ride it when you retire.”
