SALT LAKE CITY -- Snowboarder Danny Davis underwent surgery Monday after he fractured his spine in an ATV accident early Sunday morning near Park City.
The snowboarder was admitted to a Utah hospital Sunday, the day after he won the Winter Dew Tour halfpipe contest at Snowbasin. He was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a L3 spine fracture, according to a posting on his official Facebook page. The post also stated that Davis will not be competing in the remaining snowboarding events this year because of the injury, which includes the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
The Summit County sheriff's department in Park City released a statement that said Davis was leaving a housing development at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday, after celebrating his Dew Tour victory, and was knocked unconscious when he crashed his four-wheeler into a closed metal gate on a private driveway.
The sheriff's department said it did not anticipate filing charges against the 21-year-old snowboarder, who has a total of four Dew Tour and Grand Prix halfpipe victories over the last two years.
His agent's message on Davis' Facebook page said doctors are optimistic he will make a full recovery.
After his victory Saturday night at the Winter Dew Tour, Davis said he planned on driving back to Park City, where he was staying with fellow snowboarder Jack Mitrani.
"We'll go to the bar, have some drinks, have some fun," he said. "Get a little rowdy tonight."
Davis won't have the chance to dedicate his Olympics to another fallen friend, halfpipe rider Kevin Pearce. Pearce suffered a severe brain injury during training last month. A week after Pearce was injured, Davis won a snowboarding Grand Prix halfpipe event in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., that all but assured him a spot in the Olympics.
He won by landing three double-cork jumps -- double back flips with a series of different twists -- in the same run. Almost instantly, the performance was touted as one of the best halfpipe runs in the history of the sport, and he dedicated the run to Pearce.
"I had Kev on my mind and right before every run I was making sure I had him in spirit," Davis said that day. "I know we're sending vibes back to each other, and it was good."
Pearce remains in serious condition in a Salt Lake City hospital.
The injuries to two of America's top halfpipe riders puts added importance on the final two Olympic qualifying events, set for Friday and Saturday in Park City.
Defending Olympic champion Shaun White already has two victories and has solidified his spot on the team. Louie Vito, who has a pair of second-place finishes, also looks like a good bet to make the team. Jarret Thomas, the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist, and Zach Black each have a pair of top-5 finishes this year.
Davis currently leads the Winter Dew Tour standings in snowboard superpipe after taking first at the tour's first two stops, in Snowbasin last weekend and Breckenridge, Colo., last month. He scored a 96.00 out of a possible 100 to edge out Steve Fisher on the last run of the competition Saturday night at Snowbasin.
Fisher and two other riders, JJ Thomas and Jack Mitrani, have a chance to surpass Davis' point total and claim the Dew Tour Cup at the tour's final stop in Mount Snow, Vt., next month.
Information from Standard-Examiner reporter Jeff DeMoss and The Associated Press were included in this article.
Olympic halfpipe hopeful injured in accident, will not compete in 2010
SALT LAKE CITY — Snowboarder Danny Davis was admitted to a Utah hospital with a back injury after an ATV accident Sunday morning. Davis was likely to make the U.S. Olympic team in halfpipe. He was admitted to the hospital Sunday, the day after he won the Winter Dew Tour halfpipe contest at Snowbasin during the Dew Tour.
According to Davis’s official Facebook page, he will undergo surgery today to repair a L3 spine fracture.
“Contrary to rumors, doctors remain positive Danny will make a full recovery,†the update read.
The update was available on his page just after 3 p.m. It also stated that Davis will not be competing in the remaining snowboard events throughout 2010 because of the injury he sustained.
Detective Ron Bridge of the Summit County Sheriff’s Office told the Park Record that the injury was sustained when Davis was riding on an ATV with a friend on a private area of land known as The Preserve, located in the Snyderville Basin north of Interstate 80. Bridge said the two were traveling down a private driveway at 3:30 in the morning when they struck a closed gate.
No one was available to comment from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office Monday because of the holiday.
Information from the Associated Press is included in this article.
Snowboarder Danny Davis has been admitted to a Utah hospital with a back injury he endured in a non-snowboarding accident.Davis was likely to make the U.S. Olympic team in halfpipe. He was admitted to the hospital Sunday, the day after he won the Winter Dew Tour halfpipe contest at Snowbasin in Utah.
Details of his injuries were not immediately available.
Davis is good friends with Kevin Pearce, the snowboarder who was injured Dec. 31 in practice and is in a Salt Lake City hospital in serious condition with a head injury.
About a week after Pearce’s injury, Davis won a Snowboarding Grand Prix event in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. He won with what is already being regarded as one of the best halfpipe runs in the history of the sport — a performance he dedicated to Pearce.
UPDATE FROM DANNY DAVIS FACEBOOK PAGE:
OFFICIAL UPDATE JAN 18 1:12 PST. Danny Davis will undergo surgery today in Utah to repair a L3 spine fracture. Contrary to rumors, doctors remain positive Danny will make a full recovery. His injury is the result of an ATV accident which took place Sunday morning in Utah.
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