- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
Bono (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 licensed by Danny Hammontree:Flickr)Surgeon reveals full extent of Bono's bike crash injuries - and they're much worse than first revealed
The extent of the injuries sustained by U2 frontman Bono when he crashed while riding a bike in New York City’s Central Park at the weekend have been revealed today – and they are much more extensive than first thought.
The Irish singer, real name Paul Hewson, underwent five hours of surgery to have three metal plates and 18 screws inserted in his arm, where his humerus bone had shattered in six places, the bone protruding through his skin.
He underwent a second round of surgery on Monday for a broken bone in the little finger of his left hand, but the injuries did not stop there. He also fractured his left shoulder blade in three places, and sustained a fractured eye socket.
A statement from U2 after the crash said simply that he had hurt his arm and would be forced to miss several planned TV appearances. Following today’s medical update, however, Rolling Stone says it is too early to say whether his injuries will affect a planned tour by the band.
Guitarist The Edge had told the magazine in September: "The tour is still in the planning stage so it's too early to describe what it will be like," said the guitarist. "I think we will start small. We certainly can't get any bigger than the last tour."
According to a statement from orthopaedic trauma surgeon Dean Lorich MD of the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where Bono was taken after the crash, it happened while the singer was trying to avoid another cyclist.
Here is his statement in full:
On November 16th, Bono was involved in a high energy bicycle accident when he attempted to avoid another rider. Presented as a Trauma Alert to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell's Emergency Department, his Trauma
Work-up at that time included multiple X-rays and CAT scans showed injuries that include:
1. Left facial fracture involving the orbit of his eye.
2. Left scapula (shoulder blade) fracture in three separate pieces.
3. Left compound distal humerus fracture where the bone of his humerus was driven though his skin and the bone was in six different pieces. He was taken emergently to the operating room for a five-hour surgery Sunday evening where the elbow was washed out and debrided, a nerve trapped in the break was moved and the bone was repaired with three metal plates and 18 screws.
4. One day later, he had surgery to his left hand to repair a fracture of his 5th metacarpal.
He will require intensive and progressive therapy, however a full recovery is expected.
Dean Lorich, MD
Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon
New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Hospital For Special Surgery
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- wtjs 12 min 39 sec ago
after I said that if they wouldn't tell me the outcome of a submission I would have to make an FOI request for it...
- Mr Anderson 17 min 46 sec ago
Did Road.cc miss this news item? Putney fatal collision 2 November 2024.
- Bungle_52 19 min 45 sec ago
In Gloucestershire I've been having an email dialogue with Robert Vestey who has recently decided that close passes will get an advisory letter...
- Sriracha 41 min 40 sec ago
Lidl have a window poster emblazoned, "Black Friday. Starts Sunday".
- Dnnnnnn 46 min 15 sec ago
I take "rat running" to be taking shortcuts through streets which aren't really suitable (at least when lots of people do the same thing)....
- tubasti 1 hour 9 min ago
More likely, the fork offset was increased to offset the gain in trail effected by the use of fatter tires.
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 44 min ago
Note that only one of them was actually used by him as a race bike (the 2010 Madone) and that not in his "glory" years, I'm sure one of his Tour...
- David9694 2 hours 12 min ago
You have to wonder how many drivers are merrily writing-off their cars this way. Nearly all the coverage is flooding related - Chippenham and...
- Gbjbanjs 2 hours 42 min ago
Prudhomme is the worst thing in pro cycling - even worse than the green washing and red washing.
- OnYerBike 3 hours 7 min ago
Where did you read the minimum tariff is 5 years? Sentencing Guidelines says it's 2 years (minimum disqualification is 5 years)....
Add new comment
28 comments
He was stuck in a moment he couldn't get out of and suffered from vertigo, but still hadn't found what he was looking for.
It wasn't such a beautiful day, after all.
Sounds like he was moving pretty fast - and his cycle handling skills are a bit off' ?
I heard that after the crash wild horses couldn't drag him away. Apparently he'd waited all day for night to come and it came like a hunter while he was trying to punch a hole through the night, throw his arms around the world and he couldn't hold on, now all he's got is hurt. Nerve damage to his arm left his fingers too numb to feel.
Up until that point it must have been a Beautiful Day
He was having a Race Against Time
Sorry to hear he had an accident in the park on a Street With No Name.
At least only One person was injured
It must have been a really Bloody Sunday
Is a 'high energy bicycle accident' one that involves Stock Aitken Waterman?
Maybe he upset the gangs of New York
He must have been flying! Is he a closet tester or something? Bono in a skinsuit on a Cervelo P5, travelling faster than anything else in Manhattan...
Thanks for that, I can't unsee that mental image now...
"high energy bicycle accident"
...understatement of the year! How's the other guy? That's some crash for a park! Was he after a KOM on Strava?!
That's a heck of a "high energy bicycle accident", to do all that damage!
Mind you, I hear that Dr Joshua Tree is a very good physio
Well, tonight thank God it's him, instead of you.
he will rattle and hum when he's riding now
Ouch. That's another delay to the tour then, hope recovery is quick.
Riding round Central Park can get pretty manic, especially at a weekend, with hundreds out trying to beat PBs around the circuit. Some of the riding is less than great, too. Add in an equal number of runners, joggers and walkers, plus random pedestrians crossing from one park path to another, and you need eyes everywhere! I've seen lots of crashes there. GWS, Bono.
Hope as a cyclist his first thought was 'How's my bike'- mine only sustained a bent brake lever when I broke a lot of bones- and as it was in the UK my collar bone has remains floating about in several pieces 18 months later. Good luck to him, not a fan but he does seem to try to make a difference.
Must have struck something in addition to the ground? Maybe a gutter.
That was one Bloody Sunday then.
But what was he riding?
He must have been going like a steam engine
More like the other guy was *riding* a steam engine, going by that little lot..poor bugger
I knew there was another reason I rode a nice, Iow recumbent..
You should see the other guy.. Seems like quite a fall. Sure it wasn't an after dark accident in the park that some celebrities seem to suffer? Sorry. Had my NOTW head on.
And all because "they didn't have extra safety gear life elbow or knee pads." - DM
'emergently' WTF is that ?
Get well soon bono.
The thing about a broken humerus is it's just not funny!
I'll get my coat….
Those are some serious injuries for a bike crash in a park!
The wonders of medical science...and insurance.
Having lived in Manhattan and ridden many a lap around Central Park, I can tell you it's downright cutthroat. For most New Yorkers, it's the only place to ride that avoids the grid system of the streets, or bike paths along the rivers.
After working hours in the summer, there are loads of people in there trying to rip each other's legs off, so it's no surprise that this crash happened, and the injuries are as serious as they are.