Jason T. Barker
11-21-2006, 05:45 PM
Hi all, sorry I haven't been able to post here until now. I work with Matt, we shoot together, and he's going to be my roommate Dec. 1st or as soon as he can be semi-mobile. Been at the hospital with Matt and his parents nearly all weekend and talk to them every few hours when i can't be there. I'm going to attempt to simplify everything up to this point for you...
I'll start with his injuries, you may want to skip this paragraph and go straight to his current condition. He substained two broken legs which required a 5 hour surgery on Saturday night putting rods and pins in. The surgery went very well but he was put into ICU Sunday because of some lung and kidney issues, breathing problems, lack of electrolytes, etc. possibly a result from the surgery and was put on a respirator. He has a broken rib and a few serious gashes & cuts on his head and face requiring stitches & staples. Bit his tongue pretty hard and has alot of bruising and random cuts. They were worried about head and neck injuries before proceeding with the surgery on his legs and once that was cleared to not be too serious they went through with it. Sunday following the surgery he had more c-scans/MRI's on his neck area to make sure the protective neck collar could be removed. It was cleared to come off Monday morning so no serious injury to his upper back. They proceeded to begin scans on his mid to lower back before trying to get him up on his feet any. We then recieved the not so good news last night that he does have a compressed spine in the lower vertebrae(s) and they were debating surgery last night. As of an hour or so ago they still have not determined to go through with it or not.
He's been coherant the entire time, i've talked to him, and he remembers the people that have visited him. He's been worried about work and we've assured him it's not a issue at all. He's been wiggling his toes and fingers since the beginning and today started moving his feet and pushing down like he's on an accelerator pedal, he just can't pull back up yet. We're just waiting on what is decided to do about the lower back and the biggest concern right now is he feels very little pain which may be a result of the compressed vertebrae...he's only had two morphine shots since the beginning.
As for the accident and the event. It was round 4 of the Drift Fury series, SCCA had an autocross event that day in the lower lot and the Drift event was in one of the uppers. It's fully legal and the promoter rents the lot for x amount. Matt was inside one of the turns with 6 or so other photographers and at least that many "corner worrkers" spread out within the in-field. The course has no barriers, it's just like autocross and setup with cones. The cars go at intervals with 2 at a time and he was hit from behind by the lead car while shooting the second one. It clipped his legs putting him into the windshield and over the car. The driver's father was with him as a passenger at the time of the incident and they have talked to Matt's family. They've expressed deep sorrow and he seems to be quite shooken up by it and has said he would like to see Matt and apologize personally. He's still in ICU so that's not really an option yet.
As for the future. I'm accustomed to SCCA and how corner workers operate, always have two together facing opposite directions. I've suggested from the beginning there should be spotters out there and not just people looking through a viewfinder or picking up cones. The people setting up cones can't exactly do their job and protect who's behind them at the same time. Permanent barriers are not an option and i don't know if temporary barriers and/or platforms is a safe alternative. If the event is to proceed allowing media in the in-field then i've volunteered to be a safety steward and require each person to have someone with them, someone within arms reach that can warn and direct of any danger.
Sorry for such a long post, if you have any questions or concerns i'll be happy to reply. If you would like to leave Matt a message his myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/ga_teg
I'll start with his injuries, you may want to skip this paragraph and go straight to his current condition. He substained two broken legs which required a 5 hour surgery on Saturday night putting rods and pins in. The surgery went very well but he was put into ICU Sunday because of some lung and kidney issues, breathing problems, lack of electrolytes, etc. possibly a result from the surgery and was put on a respirator. He has a broken rib and a few serious gashes & cuts on his head and face requiring stitches & staples. Bit his tongue pretty hard and has alot of bruising and random cuts. They were worried about head and neck injuries before proceeding with the surgery on his legs and once that was cleared to not be too serious they went through with it. Sunday following the surgery he had more c-scans/MRI's on his neck area to make sure the protective neck collar could be removed. It was cleared to come off Monday morning so no serious injury to his upper back. They proceeded to begin scans on his mid to lower back before trying to get him up on his feet any. We then recieved the not so good news last night that he does have a compressed spine in the lower vertebrae(s) and they were debating surgery last night. As of an hour or so ago they still have not determined to go through with it or not.
He's been coherant the entire time, i've talked to him, and he remembers the people that have visited him. He's been worried about work and we've assured him it's not a issue at all. He's been wiggling his toes and fingers since the beginning and today started moving his feet and pushing down like he's on an accelerator pedal, he just can't pull back up yet. We're just waiting on what is decided to do about the lower back and the biggest concern right now is he feels very little pain which may be a result of the compressed vertebrae...he's only had two morphine shots since the beginning.
As for the accident and the event. It was round 4 of the Drift Fury series, SCCA had an autocross event that day in the lower lot and the Drift event was in one of the uppers. It's fully legal and the promoter rents the lot for x amount. Matt was inside one of the turns with 6 or so other photographers and at least that many "corner worrkers" spread out within the in-field. The course has no barriers, it's just like autocross and setup with cones. The cars go at intervals with 2 at a time and he was hit from behind by the lead car while shooting the second one. It clipped his legs putting him into the windshield and over the car. The driver's father was with him as a passenger at the time of the incident and they have talked to Matt's family. They've expressed deep sorrow and he seems to be quite shooken up by it and has said he would like to see Matt and apologize personally. He's still in ICU so that's not really an option yet.
As for the future. I'm accustomed to SCCA and how corner workers operate, always have two together facing opposite directions. I've suggested from the beginning there should be spotters out there and not just people looking through a viewfinder or picking up cones. The people setting up cones can't exactly do their job and protect who's behind them at the same time. Permanent barriers are not an option and i don't know if temporary barriers and/or platforms is a safe alternative. If the event is to proceed allowing media in the in-field then i've volunteered to be a safety steward and require each person to have someone with them, someone within arms reach that can warn and direct of any danger.
Sorry for such a long post, if you have any questions or concerns i'll be happy to reply. If you would like to leave Matt a message his myspace page is http://www.myspace.com/ga_teg