Full open fracture of leg at 4mph -- trying to discover cause. Could use some help thinking through possibilities.

[level9]

1 minute ago, Punxatawneyjoe said:

I had thought of that but, given the wheels final location. It's hard to imagine an impact from that direction and the wheel ends up behind the bike rack seen in the picture.

True; although it's possible someone moved the wheel. Seems to be common in other accidents I've seen (get it out of the road, etc.)

Another possibility may be someone going the wrong way on the 1-way and turned left in front of him (right bumper contact right leg). If it was a hit-and-run I would guess he didn't see the car which means likely coming from an unexpected location/direction.

[Funky]

2 hours ago, UnbalancedMathematician said:

Photos Link  

Thanks for everyone's help. So red is the course taken, red square my location after accident. Blue is wheel location and yellow is car path. 
 

You're welcome to explore more by looking at Google maps (15th and Euclid in DC.) Was on east side of 15 northbound crossing Euclid. 

While car was my first thought, there is no damage to wheel and car would have been likely coming from my left (though right leg injured) 
 

Link has full set of annotated images

I only have x-ray post-setting but you'll get the idea. Will reply with that

 

Why no damage to wheel? Your leg protected it.. Leg being by side of euc. Perfect protector.

[chanman]

1 hour ago, UnbalancedMathematician said:

bad ankle break from a wheel losing power. If even that can be enough to cause a major break

Let's not equate an ankle injury with the type of fractures here, the amount and direction of force involved is very different.

[alcatraz]

What I can't wrap my head around is that you don't have any other signs of impact other than a broken leg.

Or are there? Check yourself out carefully. Check your gear. 

If there are no signs I could only really imagine something like a bulleting dog/person or that you have a medical condition that made you unconcious and somehow in the fall the powerpad took out your leg.

[eezo]

Oh something I was thinking. You mentioned there were no cameras on this area to see what happened. It's worth looking around the roads in and out of that area to see where there is camera coverage. You may be able to get video of vehicles going in and out of the area around the time of the incident. A police report may also be worth while so you can get access to traffic cameras potentially. If it's been more than 30 days you might need to act extremely fast because video typically isn't kept much longer than that.

[The Brahan Seer]

Interesting seeing the x-rays, looks like the break could be characteristic of blunt force trauma rather than a torsional break which tend to be clean. Perhaps when you next see your doctor you could ask what the likely mechanism of injury is since I'm taking an educated guess.

I lost all memory of a motorcycle accident but over time bits and pieces came back to me, still some gaps. So pretty normal experience. Your brain likes protecting you.

The comfort I get from this is if I kill myself on the road I know I won't remember it even if it doesn't kill me straight away.

[Roadpower]

Sorry to hear of this, I haven't read the entire thread so please forgive me if I ask a question that has been answered already. Did this happen during dawn or dusk? Have you had any history of fainting or had any medical treatments in the last few years? (I am sure the following is going to strongly irritate one or more people but that is not my intention or desire and I already regret asking such a politically charged question.) By "medical treatment" I'm including possibly being vaccinated on the back of the COVID 19 event.

It might be an idea to post a few signs at the location solicitating responses by people who may have witnessed the event.

[goatman]

I t-boned a car that hung a left in front of me. Probably hit him at 25mph and. Me and the wheel landed in the same location as you and your wheel. Wheel was pretty much undamaged. I hit it in the sitting position. My right pedal hit the tire, my left pedal hit the lower fender by the door, the tire didn't hit the car at all and my shoulder took out his door. I'd say someone hung a left right in front of you and you smacked into the side of the car

[mhpr262]

I dont think you were necessarily hit by somebody. I recall that three or four years ago there was a post in this very forum by some guy who had his tibia and fibula shattered in exactly the same way as you (also by a Nikola, IIRC) - it happened when the wheel cut out on him and smashed into his leg when it tumbled. Were you wearing heavy (motorcycle/MX) boots? The more I hear about serious EUC accidents the  more I am convinced that heavy, armored boots are a much underappreciated bit of safety equipment. I have had two medium serious injuries over more than 20.000 kilometer of riding EUCs and both times it was my right ankle that was affected. The first time I was wearing soft sneakers and it took eight months to fully heal, the second time I was wearing motorcycle boots and healing took like four days.

Edited July 26, 2023 by mhpr262

[techyiam]

3 hours ago, mhpr262 said:

I dont think you were necessarily hit by somebody. I recall that three or four years ago there was a post in this very forum by some guy who had his tibia and fibula shattered in exactly the same way as you (also by a Nikola, IIRC) - it happened when the wheel cut out on him and smashed into his leg when it tumbled. Were you wearing heavy (motorcycle/MX) boots? The more I hear about serious EUC accidents the  more I am convinced that heavy, armored boots are a much underappreciated bit of safety equipment. I have had two medium serious injuries over more than 20.000 kilometer of riding EUCs and both times it was my right ankle that was affected. The first time I was wearing soft sneakers and it took eight months to fully heal, the second time I was wearing motorcycle boots and healing took like four days.

The O.P. said he wore a helmet. I have my doubts that he was involved in a single vehicle accident. He was going way too slow for such serious head trauma, especially if he was wearing a motorcycle helmet and still lost his memory,

[eezo]

1 hour ago, techyiam said:

The O.P. said he wore a helmet. I have my doubts that he was involved in a single vehicle accident. He was going way too slow for such serious head trauma, especially if he was wearing a motorcycle helmet and still lost his memory,

OP was wearing a full face bike helmet with MIPS only and no impact safety certifications (not ASTM, not Snell, not ECE). I mentioned it earlier in the thread, it definitely wasn't a motorcycle helmet.

[Darrell Wesh]

5 hours ago, mhpr262 said:

I dont think you were necessarily hit by somebody. I recall that three or four years ago there was a post in this very forum by some guy who had his tibia and fibula shattered in exactly the same way as you (also by a Nikola, IIRC) - it happened when the wheel cut out on him and smashed into his leg when it tumbled. Were you wearing heavy (motorcycle/MX) boots? The more I hear about serious EUC accidents the  more I am convinced that heavy, armored boots are a much underappreciated bit of safety equipment. I have had two medium serious injuries over more than 20.000 kilometer of riding EUCs and both times it was my right ankle that was affected. The first time I was wearing soft sneakers and it took eight months to fully heal, the second time I was wearing motorcycle boots and healing took like four days.

Even if it did land on him there’s no way it did much damage at that speed which he believes to be sub 5mph. 

[techyiam]

1 minute ago, Darrell Wesh said:

Even if it did land on him there’s no way it did much damage at that speed which he believes to be sub 5mph. 

+1.

It is not reasonable at sub 5 mph. There just isn't enough momentum to convert into high impact forces. If he T-boned a truck at 25+ mph, now that would be another story.

[Circuitmage]

Yeah...a long time ago when I was ~22 yrs old (??), I was on a small motorbike going 15mph.  I remember I was thinking it was a beautiful day, I had 1 intersection to go through (just left a friends house), the light was green and only 2 blocks to my next class. 

The next thing I remember is waking up to some strange woman holding me, I had 8 broken ribs, punctured lung, double fractured wrist, double fractured jaw, broken tooth, lots of glass embedded in my hand and my helmet was cracked all the way down the middle. The speedometer was locked in at 15mph after the wreck, so I know how fast I was going.

Witnesses said I flew 20 feet up in the air. The car that hit me was supposed to be going 30 mph somehow did a 360 and ended up 40 feet away on a sidewalk over a curb. I estimate she was going about 60 mph. 

I never remembered her hitting me. I never remembered my hand going through her window. I never remembered flying though the air or landing.
I do remember all the pain, being in the hospital for 2 weeks , and her getting the ticket she received at the accident dropped 2 months later because of a corrupt "justice" system that hires unethical lawyers to help insurance agencies avoid payouts.

I would guess you were hit too. The mind blanks out and hits the reset button when things like this happen.

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Circuitmage

[winterwheel]

This sounds a bit like Marty Backe's injury. My thought on that one was that is lower leg was too locked in by pedal spikes when the wheel twisted on him. The concussion problem could be explained by the fact helmets are designed to prevent physical trauma and don't worry so much about causing or at least allowing concussions as a trade-off to achieve that.

[superox]

IMHO the OP got hit by a car. No way does someone just lose memory and break leg bones for no reason. Human brain can absolutely erase a traumatic experience so you don't remember a thing about something you know happened.

[Roadpower]

14 hours ago, Circuitmage said:

 <snip>

The mind blanks out and hits the reset button when things like this happen.

Man, you were busted up pretty badly. Terrible stuff. I'm curious, did any of your family or friends say that your behaviors changed after that? I'm also thinking that it seems like everyone using a vehicle without a cage should probably consider something like a Insta 360. If nothing else it might at least help a family figure out what happened to a loved one. :-/

[Malikona]

I can imagine the frustration of not knowing exactly what happened, but at least you seem to have been spared some of the trauma of reliving the accident in detail in your memory. Not trying to minimize what you’re going through, just looking for a silver lining. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Toad]

When you were waiting, on the sidewalk, was one foot down on the sidewalk while the other foot was on the unicycle's foot-plate?  Which foot do you put down while waiting?

 

[UnbalancedMathematician]

For an update.

1. I can still recall nothing.

2. Sadly my surgery was botched. 

3. This September I had it redone: both bones rebroken, new nail, new additional screws etc. 

4. Currently in cam boot and walker. 
 

I'm amazed when I hear of 40mph crashes and broken toes, I suppose sometimes the rare things must happen so they aren't impossible. 
 

🤷‍♂️

 

[UnbalancedMathematician]

On 8/8/2023 at 8:03 PM, Toad said:

When you were waiting, on the sidewalk, was one foot down on the sidewalk while the other foot was on the unicycle's foot-plate?  Which foot do you put down while waiting?

 

Right foot was waiting on the pedal left on the ground

[Forwardnbak]

5 hours ago, UnbalancedMathematician said:

For an update.

1. I can still recall nothing.

2. Sadly my surgery was botched. 

3. This September I had it redone: both bones rebroken, new nail, new additional screws etc. 

4. Currently in cam boot and walker. 
 

I'm amazed when I hear of 40mph crashes and broken toes, I suppose sometimes the rare things must happen so they aren't impossible. 
 

🤷‍♂️

 

Sorry to hear this whole thread.

I totally understand your need to EUC due to your social/fatigue - This is much the same need that motivates me to EUC. 

Good luck with the recovery and I hope you keep yourself feeling ok, audiobooks? new hobby for a while? 

The crash sounds really hard to understand and that would shake you up.

Im sure you've had a bunch of tests and bloods done, ruling out things like diabetes, epilepsy, concussion may help add some light. Water intake that day? food? dunno.

It does seem like impact of some kind but the wrong twist or hit from spinning EUC could mess you up.

A crash or some other force also?? maybe??

gee it sucks there are no witnesses. I do run a helmet camera incase as a witness. 

I nursed a few wards and patients would pass out for heaps of different reasons, sometimes just standing up, vasovagal syncope and sometimes with some memory loss for a while. Just make sure your okay as you dont want it occurring down the track.

Man all the best. Sucks to be down and away from the thing that gives you a buzz. 

Good luck so much. 

 

 

 

[Big Bad Ron]

On 7/26/2023 at 12:29 PM, goatman said:

I t-boned a car that hung a left in front of me. Probably hit him at 25mph and. Me and the wheel landed in the same location as you and your wheel. Wheel was pretty much undamaged. I hit it in the sitting position. My right pedal hit the tire, my left pedal hit the lower fender by the door, the tire didn't hit the car at all and my shoulder took out his door. I'd say someone hung a left right in front of you and you smacked into the side of the car

How did it turn out in the end, not to side track this topic but with no insurance who paid for the damage?

[skunkmonkey]

My complete shot-in-the-dark guess as to what happened would be that you were about to go out onto the road, but then a car or something came by and made you change your mind, so you tried to twist rapidly to avoid a collision. This caused you to fall into the road, and shot the wheel over to where it stopped behind where you started. I really think you got a pretty good concussion if you were knocked out and can't remember the incident, though trauma can sometimes cause us to bury memories too, so hard to say for sure.

Edited October 16, 2023 by skunkmonkey

[Uras]

On 7/26/2023 at 4:27 AM, UnbalancedMathematician said:

EUC is the thing that got me up every morning, and what I looked forward to when going to sleep: it changed my life. So needless to say the lack of clarity is really hard and would be greatful for any thoughts. 
 

ME: I've been riding for almost a year: I'm comfortable going 30ish on decent roads and can go slower than my more advanced buddies. Also ride easy trails 3ft wide (graded but not steep). In my late 30s, no history of epilepsy or any conciseness affecting condition
 

WHEEL: Nikola 100v Molicel 
 

EVENT:

1. one month ago I was riding where I always do. I was waiting for a crosswalk sign as I was temporarily on the sidewalk. I've taken the entry to this crosswalk over 100 times. (Note traffic is from left) 

2.  I recall waiting about 10 ft back from street.

3. Then I woke up face down in the street  with my lower right leg bent at a 45 degree angle with middle of the leg back as though struck from  front. I recall nothing. 

Estimated speed when entering street would be about 5mph

4 I was perpendicular to my direction of travel (ie in line with crossing street direction), then displaced slightly left of expected (head even with crosswalk-sidewalk entrance), 

5. The wheel was found behind and to the right of my direction of travel if entering street at crosswalk (by about 15 ft)

WHEEL AND GEAR CONDITION:

- wheel: zero damage except handle slightly harder to get in place, 

- only gear damage was chest guard plastic was mashed in a bit in a small area, possibly new marks on wrist guards, no marks on shin guards, small helmet mark

GEAR: I take safely seriously

Helmet, chest and spine guard  C2 , jacket with armored back elbows shoulders (C2), C1 armored shorts to protect lower spine and hips, knee and shin guards (fleet), wrist and palm guard, armored gloves. 

 MEDICAL:

- open displaced tibia, displaced splintered fibula.

- 5 hr surgery for IM rod in tibia and nails. 
- 5 days in hospital
- currently in cam boot and walker, numb foot and most of leg 

- Dr estimated walking unassisted in 6 months and normal activity in 12-24 months

 

QUESTION: For those of you with  knowledge of 

- euc injuries

- euc physics 

- euc diagnostics 

I'd be greatful for any help in thinking through what happened. 
 

I'm happy to share 
- intersection photos
- wheel data if it can be recovered
- x-rays etc

Thanks so much. 
 

PS: no cameras in area 

I'm not sure I'd worry too much. I have a fear of hospitals and medical interventions, but get my fair share of those shitty situations - nothing big on euc though. For me euc is something that I can gear up for when I'm doing stuff half as dangerous - mtb I couldn't wear too much; motorcycles - well I just don't ride my wheel that fast or play with traffic.

I try to think like a kid - we tend to over think everything as we get older. Kids pick stuff up by doing it and farting around. I believe we also lose touch with fear as we get older - I like to think that it's a good thing to experience that every now and then.

I do have one suggestion though, that you may or may not be aware of; strong bones. Vit k2mk7, d3, magnesium, zinc at a minimum. Also, do you stretch at all? And some exercise? It's good to be in reasonable shape for these type of activities. Having good strength and flexibility will probably mean that some mishaps just don't happen - I'm sure of it for me. I imagine you've had a shit ton of medications too - I'd use some pro biotics to help get your gut health back on line.

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Uras