IGASAURUS
05-12-2008, 11:26 PM
RIP man. I didn't know him personally but I remember seeing him around. Thoughts out to his family and loved ones. :puppydog:
On Saturday May 10th at about 8:45am, Rocky Gesner suffered fatal injuries while practicing for a race. The 18
year-old motocrosser from Orting, WA was set to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks.
The track at Washougal was run backwards, with riders coming down Horsepower Hill instead of up it. It looked
like Rocky hit a lip and got crossed up coming over the top and heading down. His bike cartwheeled down the
hill and he hit the ground hard. A "bad get-off" was the what the announcer called it when it first happened.
It quickly became apparent that this crash was much more than a bad get-off. Rocky got up and ran off the
track, collapsing in the grass at the bottom of a tree where he never fully regained consciousness. Within
seconds he was surrounded by other riders, track crew, and medics and the severity of his injuries were
obvious to those around him. A silence hung over the entire park as the medics worked to save his life. It took
nearly 45 minutes to get Rocky onto the medical ATV and very, very slowly take him off the hill where a
Lifeflight helicopter was standing by. He never made it to the helicopter.
Rocky suffered severe internal bleeding when a broken clavicle severed an artery. As announcer Brian Barnes
put it, "Even if there had been a full-scale operating room at the top of Horsepower Hill, they couldn't have
saved him".
There was a lot of debate over the safety of running the track backwards. Pro rider Heath Hamblen called the
lip at the top of HH "messed up" and said it was "kickin' everybody around". After the wreck the track crew did
some work at the top and it appeared that the problem was solved, there were no more crashes in that spot the
rest of the weekend.
The death at the very beginning of a long weekend of racing certainly cast a shadow on the PRO event. There
were no other crashes serious enough to require ambulance transport, but the feeling around Washougal was
both gloomy and tense, with fights breaking out after a few motos and many sad faces. Over and over I heard
people say in hushed voices "At least he died doing what he loved". As trite as that may sound, I know
motocrossers, so I know that it is a valid point to make.
Brian Barnes, 'The Voice of Washougal', did an excellent job in a difficult situation. He handled the task of
announcing Rocky's death with grace and compassion. News coverage was extensive and surprisingly free of
negativity. HyperX set to work making "In Loving Memory" t-shirts and donated the proceeds to the Gesner
family. PRO spokesman Garrett Devol took up a collection for the family and dedicated Sunday's racing to
Rocky.
There was a candlelight vigil held at the site of the crash on Saturday night and a moving tribute on Sunday
morning. Those that attended were reverent and humbled. Every person there was feeling immeasurable
sympathy for Rocky's friends and family. And I am sure each of us with a child immersed in this wonderful,
thrilling and frightening sport must have been thinking, "it could so easily have been my kid". Its a sobering
thought and one that makes you wonder at the randomness of life. Maybe God had a plan for Rocky, maybe He
needed someone up there roosting his angels. We'll never know why it was #446's time to die, but at least he
died doing what he loved.
RIP #446
For information on services and to send the family your condolences
please visit: rocky-gesner446.memory-of.com (http://rocky-gesner446.memory-of.com/)
Sadness at Washougal (http://www.northwestmotocross.com/sadday.html)
On Saturday May 10th at about 8:45am, Rocky Gesner suffered fatal injuries while practicing for a race. The 18
year-old motocrosser from Orting, WA was set to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks.
The track at Washougal was run backwards, with riders coming down Horsepower Hill instead of up it. It looked
like Rocky hit a lip and got crossed up coming over the top and heading down. His bike cartwheeled down the
hill and he hit the ground hard. A "bad get-off" was the what the announcer called it when it first happened.
It quickly became apparent that this crash was much more than a bad get-off. Rocky got up and ran off the
track, collapsing in the grass at the bottom of a tree where he never fully regained consciousness. Within
seconds he was surrounded by other riders, track crew, and medics and the severity of his injuries were
obvious to those around him. A silence hung over the entire park as the medics worked to save his life. It took
nearly 45 minutes to get Rocky onto the medical ATV and very, very slowly take him off the hill where a
Lifeflight helicopter was standing by. He never made it to the helicopter.
Rocky suffered severe internal bleeding when a broken clavicle severed an artery. As announcer Brian Barnes
put it, "Even if there had been a full-scale operating room at the top of Horsepower Hill, they couldn't have
saved him".
There was a lot of debate over the safety of running the track backwards. Pro rider Heath Hamblen called the
lip at the top of HH "messed up" and said it was "kickin' everybody around". After the wreck the track crew did
some work at the top and it appeared that the problem was solved, there were no more crashes in that spot the
rest of the weekend.
The death at the very beginning of a long weekend of racing certainly cast a shadow on the PRO event. There
were no other crashes serious enough to require ambulance transport, but the feeling around Washougal was
both gloomy and tense, with fights breaking out after a few motos and many sad faces. Over and over I heard
people say in hushed voices "At least he died doing what he loved". As trite as that may sound, I know
motocrossers, so I know that it is a valid point to make.
Brian Barnes, 'The Voice of Washougal', did an excellent job in a difficult situation. He handled the task of
announcing Rocky's death with grace and compassion. News coverage was extensive and surprisingly free of
negativity. HyperX set to work making "In Loving Memory" t-shirts and donated the proceeds to the Gesner
family. PRO spokesman Garrett Devol took up a collection for the family and dedicated Sunday's racing to
Rocky.
There was a candlelight vigil held at the site of the crash on Saturday night and a moving tribute on Sunday
morning. Those that attended were reverent and humbled. Every person there was feeling immeasurable
sympathy for Rocky's friends and family. And I am sure each of us with a child immersed in this wonderful,
thrilling and frightening sport must have been thinking, "it could so easily have been my kid". Its a sobering
thought and one that makes you wonder at the randomness of life. Maybe God had a plan for Rocky, maybe He
needed someone up there roosting his angels. We'll never know why it was #446's time to die, but at least he
died doing what he loved.
RIP #446
For information on services and to send the family your condolences
please visit: rocky-gesner446.memory-of.com (http://rocky-gesner446.memory-of.com/)
Sadness at Washougal (http://www.northwestmotocross.com/sadday.html)