Injury Lake Havasu
 

This sucks...

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department marine enforcement unit reported 35-year-old Michael Haley, of Palm Bay, Fla., was injured while attempting to wakeboard Friday on Lake Havasu.



Sgt. Tim Smith, of SBCSD, said Sunday the accident occurred about 3:52 p.m.

During the incident, the operator accelerated the 2008 Malibu Wakesettter boat in an attempt to pull Haley up on the wakeboard when Haley felt his leg break.

Smith said the man broke his femur.

The boat operator called for assistance and Lake Havasu City Fire Department firefighters responded with the fire boat alongside San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies.

The Havasu firefighters stabilized Haley and transported him to Windsor Beach at Lake Havasu State Park.

River Medical ambulance service transported Haley to Havasu Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Initial accident investigations determined alcohol wasn’t a factor in the incident. The investigation was completed and no citations were issued.

Why did this make the news?

I have no idea...but was sent out from Wakeboard news on twitter. Curious to know though how someones femur snaps when being pulled up.

Sad story, I have heard about this happening once before. You cant win the battle and fight the boat from being pulled up.

I've heard of that happening to other people as well.

Broke my femur jumping on a wet trampoline when I was 8. Slipped on the down jump, legs did the splits past 180° and snap! I drink milk now, (does the body good) I'm shocked this happened from Wakeboarding as well

That happened to a lady out on the Colorado River where we ride. She had to be helicoptered to Palm Springs because the injury was so bad. I think she still walks with a slight limp today. Tough deal...

This actually happened to my buddy the first time he tried wakeboarding. He is vey muscular and didn't know what he was doing so he tried to muscle it rather than finess it. Wound up with a spiral fracture and rolling a wheelchair for the whole summer. He was in the water for 45 minutes before they could get him out.

Wow...people throwing the throttle down when pulling riders out or what?

That's what I am thinking. I find it hard to believe that a slow and steady pull up (which for beginners is probably what you should be doing) would not even break a leg. I would think the rider would let go of the rope before their leg would break.

The funny thing is I broke my femur by doing inverts but Just recently I got out on the board and just cruised around. Now my leg isn't even fully healed and I felt no pain what so ever getting up. Im thinking we aren't hearing the full story.

Broken Femur is more common then you think. I have heard this several times before. I know over the many years I have been boating and helping people learn how to ski, single ski and now of coarse wakeboard people try to muscle themselves up out of the water and not letting the boat pull them up. When I teach people how to get up wakeboarding I tell them to stay seated and slowly stand up as the boat pulls you out of the water. Letting the boat do all the work. Plus I do a nice steady pull with a slow drag at first and a nice even throttle to speed. Never a fast jerk up. I new a guy that tore his bicep trying to pull himself up wakeboarding. He had to have surgery. He was a big muscle bound guy too.

^^^^got a giggle for a minute when you posted this and your screen name is fullspeed.

When my buddy went too huge he came down on the nose of his board and snapped his femur. When we got to the hospital the nurses said skiing was the most common way people brake they're femurs. We also learned it takes 1000lbs of pressure to break it

LR3w8kbrdr

Funny....your right. I should change that to "nice even throttle" lol