Comments on: Atlanta Downhill Challenge Soapbox Derby

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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:33:12 +0000

[...] a little disheartening that Atlanta appears unaware that we’ve had a soapbox derby every year for the past three years… Sigh. Corporate [...]

By: Courtney

Courtney — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:26:56 +0000

Hi Tessa,
Love your article– This is Courtney — The guy who crashed and died and was brought back to life when my racer crashed– I was wearing a helmet though– and yess outta pure excitement I did forget to grab my repelling/caving full faced helmet as I left my house in Decatur– And the breaking system that I built for the racer was a really good one– I actually cut a large chunk of rubber from the spare tire for my SUV and trashed the tire after to build the breaking system–

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68075&id=...

Here's the link– it really is me– In any case I would love for you to send me copies of the pictures you have as I would like to get a clear idea–as much as I can of what really happened and how I looked like when I was laying dead– It's a very ?? reflecting experience– well I'm sure I can use a better word than “reflecting” but afterall I did get some head injuries so my mem is not as great as it use to be!!!

By: Courtney

Courtney — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:26:00 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=68075&id=599697008&l=55ab24e414

Here’s the link– it really is me– In any case I would love for you to send me copies of the pictures you have as I would like to get a clear idea–as much as I can of what really happened and how I looked like when I was laying dead– It’s a very ?? reflecting experience– well I’m sure I can use a better word than “reflecting” but afterall I did get some head injuries so my mem is not as great as it use to be!!!

By: Rebekha

Rebekha — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:09:39 +0000

I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event. Courtney (the person n the crash) is in positive spirits and keeps telling me about how he is going to modify his cart for next year. He says, the wheels were too small to hold the body. I have really been blessed with a wonderful new friend out of a negative situation.

We started a fund raiser for Courtney. Here is the following information:

Please send money to his friend Fern who is handling all the money on his behalf. We are using PayPal and if needed her g-mail address is: fern.lovelace@gmail.com

Here is the donation link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=KJR3ARSGKDHCC&lc=US&item_name=Courtney%2dSoap%20Box%20Derby%202008&item_number=Cpegus¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3aPB150198%2ejpg%3aNonHosted

Tessa, thank you so much for all your messages and being a wonderful 2008 sponsor!

By: jeph

jeph — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 02:07:45 +0000

sorry i couldnt make it over to the tent to talk some more. for some unexplained reason, we kept being sent to the top of the hill to race again. charles barkley failed to show up to race us in his “hoopster.” 2nd place will have to do.

By: wesley what what

wesley what what — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:33:10 +0000

here’s what happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHqCNN3E4TI

By: Tessa

Tessa — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:09:40 +0000

Update: The soapbox racer is being released from the hospital. Rebekha will be posting an update with money raised, etc soon.

By: Nina

Nina — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:33:48 +0000

Thanks for the updates! I am seriously breathing a sigh of relief right now.

By: Tessa

Tessa — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:15:51 +0000

My tweets from yesterday:
http://twitter.com/tessa/status/1007320047
http://twitter.com/tessa/status/1007321624
http://twitter.com/tessa/status/1007489483
http://twitter.com/tessa/status/1007490798

By: Tessa

Tessa — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:11:14 +0000

Reposting my comment that I left on the Creative Loafing blog post regarding the accident at the Atlanta Downhill Challenge yesterday:

I also heard similar rumors regarding his attitude towards wearing a helmet and his disregard of the matter. All of the participants are informed of the risk and sign consent forms. I believe they had requested to have two ambulances at the event but were not supplied with them (another rumor, this is nothing I am sure of). There were a number of medical professionals nearby who were able to stabilize him before the paramedics arrived. (20 minutes later – gah!) He did regain consciousness before the paramedics arrived but was unconscious for a good 5-7 minutes after the crash.

The car crashed due to poor brakes and the driver attempted to turn too sharp and fast to avoid hitting hay barrels that were the border between the raceway and the audience. The car flipped over and the helmet flew off of the driver before he ever hit the ground. He landed on first impact directly on his head. The car continued to roll dragged him with it, his body still in the vehicle. When the vehicle stopped, he was laying on his side hanging out of the vehicle unconscious. I have photos of the entire thing due to covering the event for my blog as a sponsor (while he was in the car before being extracted to help) which are a bit disturbing, in particular, the direct impact of the first hit he suffered. I did not realize what had happened until I saw him not move once the car had stopped and I scrolled back through my photos.

I feel very bad for the individual who suffered this accident but I have to say that he set himself up for it. This is a perfect example of “why you need to wear a helmet kids!” Any responsible individual his age (early 30s) should understand the risks of the steepness of the hill, his handmade car, the leaves, terrain, etc. Wear a stupid helmet. Nobody is indestructible.