This is a write-up my brother Scott did about the accident:

We have had several questions about the details of Sam’s accident and decided to write it up so Sam and Allison don’t have to re-count the story several times over.  Sam isn’t excited to talk about the details so this message will hopefully answer most of the questions.

Sam was participating in the Beaver Lake Triathlon on August 17^th.  After the swim (which he says felt slower than normal) he boarded his bike and headed out through the hills of Sammamish and Issaquah.  There is a large hill that goes down the back side of Issaquah called Duthie Hill road which is where the accident took place.  Coincidentally, Sam rode the same route the week before and was a bit worried about the quality of the rode and winding parts that would be travelled at high speed.  There was only 1 witness to the accident but a few others that provided information that helped re-create the scene. 

Sam was travelling with another contestant down the hill when the accident happened and most of the details come from her account, this woman ended up being the first person to help Sam after accident.  Travelling down the hill at approximately 40 mph Sam’s bike became unstable, the woman didn’t know how but said it looked like he hit a crack or some rocks that caused him to lose some control.  The bike drifted to the right towards a guard rail that keeps cars from going down a long ravine.  Sam gained control briefly only to drift closer to the guard rail where his bike ‘rode along the rail’ for just a few seconds.  He left his bike (surprisingly his bike stayed on the road side of the guard rail) and impacted into one of the 6”x6” posts that holds the guard rail in place.  The post is roughly 3’ off the ground and he seemed to meet the post on his way down off the bike.  This also explains many of his injuries on his right side (arm, shoulder, ribs, etc.) as the woman described the impact as very violent.  Upon impact he flopped down the hill a bit until the woman could secure him and another rider arrived to insure he didn’t slide further into the ravine.  I was able to pick up his bike from the detective that covered the accident and besides having a flat tire, the handle bars slightly tweek’d and a few scratches it is in good shape. 

The woman was able to immediately get a car travelling up the hill to call 911 and get a police officer stationed at the start of the downhill to come to the scene.  The paramedics responded quite fast and he was transported to Harborview Medical center so fast that even the race officials didn’t know much about the accident or his location after the accident.

Based on the speed and how violent the impact was with the post, Sam’s progress is remarkable.  He really only remembers making the turn to head down the large hill.  He does remember travelling with the woman but not much else.  Things are starting to come back but it will take time.  Thanks for all the concern and prayers, the family can really feel the love.