Cataford recovers from broken vertebra and shattered jaw after bike-car collision in Arizona
Ottawa’s Alex Cataford has returned home after being involved in a bike-car collision while training on Jan. 23 in Tucson, Arizona. The under-23 national time trial champion is recovering from a broken C6 vertebra, shattered jaw and six broken teeth.
“I remember very little about the accident because I was knocked out,” Cataford told Canadian Cycling Magazine. “I remember when the ambulance arrived to take me to the hospital. The accident happened on a busy street so there were bystanders who had stopped to help.”
Cataford flew down to Tucson for some warm-weather training to prepare for the start of his season with the continental team Amore & Vita-Selle SMP. On Jan. 23, he was riding downhill at approximately 45 kph when he T-boned a car that had pulled out from a smaller side street in front of him.
“The car pulled onto the street without looking,” said Cataford, who was riding alone that day. “I don’t remember what happened after that, until the ambulance got there. I think I was unconscious for a few minutes.”
The ambulance transported Cataford to the University of Arizona Medical Center where he remained for four days while doctors treated his broken C6 vertebra and shattered jaw. “They couldn’t do anything about my jaw until they confirmed that my back was OK,” he said. “The vertebra broke but my spinal cord wasn’t damaged.”
On Jan. 25, he underwent a six-hour surgery to reconstruct his jaw with two metal plates and over 30 screws. “My jaw is wired shut for six weeks,” he said. “I’ll have the screws removed after that, and they need to correct one of the metal plates, but both of them will stay in my jaw.”
Cataford also lost six front teeth, three on the top and three on the bottom, which will be replaced once his jaw as fully healed.
He received and reviewed the accident report, which he said noted the driver of the vehicle at fault, but there has been no follow-up from either the police or the driver’s insurance company. “I haven’t heard anything further from the police or the driver,” he said. “As far as I know, there were no consequences for the driver.”
He is thankful that he travelled down to Arizona with medial insurance, which covered the full cost of his treatment. “I don’t know how much the final bill was, yet, but it must have been a lot.”
Cataford arrived home on Feb. 1 and he is back on his bike, riding short spins on the training at home. “I can ride a little on the trainer now, but it’s hard to breath because my jaw is wired closed and I have to drink everything from a straw.”
Amore & Vita-Selle SMP began its season at the G.P. Costa degli Estruschi in Italy. Cataford was hoping to begin his season at the UCI under-23 Nations Cup series in Belgium in April, however, he believes that might be unrealistic due to his injuries.
Instead, he will target the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay, Tour de Beauce and the national road championships, where he hopes to defend his under-23 time trial title, and the under-23 Tour de l’Avenir and Tour of Alberta.
