Snowmobiler Caleb Moore has reportedly died as a result of injuries he suffered in a crash at the X Games a week ago according to Yahoo. He was 25.
Moore, who was from Texas, competed on all-terrain vehicles since he was a kid before switching to snowmobiles a little over four years ago. He is the first person to die due to injuries suffered during the Winter X Games, which has been held for 17 connective years.
A family spokeswoman released a statement announcing Moore's death, which took place at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado according to USA Today. They've yet to release further information about his injuries.
"We are deeply saddened by Caleb Moore's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents, Wade and Michelle, his brother, Colten, and the entire Moore family," ESPN said in a press statement. "He will be remembered for his natural passion for life and his deep love for his family and friends, and he will always be an inspiration to everyone he touched in the action sports community."
ESPN states they work "closely on safety issues" with athletes and experts, but critics have been questioning not only the way the course was set up, but how they handled the events after Moore's injury. They firmly feel they did not play a role in Moore's death, as he had landed the move on many occasions.
Moore suffered a concussion and was taken off the course during the snowmobile freestyle final in Aspen on Jan. 24. After being evaluated, doctors determined Moore "was found to have bleeding on his heart" and was taken to St. Mary's in Grand Junction for further evaluation according to USA Today. After having emergency surgery, a family spokeswoman stated he'd suffered "a brain complication," and was listed in critical condition.
The injury occurred after Moore attempted a back-flip late in his run in the freestyle competition, which requires athletes to ride a 450-pound snowmobile over a number of jumps in just 75 seconds. Moore under rotated his sled, and didn't get it far enough down before landing on the ramp.
"It's definitely a scary thing for a sport like ours," said snowmobiler and X Games competitor Levi LaVallee on Tuesday. "The only thing we can do is we can look at that and learn from it and look at how we can try to prevent that.
ESPN plans on conducting a review of the snowmobiling disciple and will "adopt any appropriate changes" according to the company.
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