Spectators in the grandstands of the motocross show Thursday experienced some tense moments when a national champion rider crashed his bike. “Hazardous” Hal Strauss, of Grand Junction, Colo., 2009 U.S. National Champion with the U.S. Freestyle Motocross Championship Series, was attempting a backflip with his Yamaha YZ 250 when the flip failed and he crashed onto a landing ramp. “He did one flip before and landed it,” said Sean O’Malley, a spectator in the crowd stated. “He was completely inverted above the ramp and didn’t get enough rotation I think. It was a little nerve racking to watch.” Witnesses stated he landed on the ramp and his bike came down on top of him. The impact cracked Strauss’s helmet. Strauss was transported to Fort Wayne Lutheran, and was “laughing and joking with doctors,” Daryl Baier, coordinator with RPM Promotions and Stunt Tours Network, announced to the crowd at the end of the show. Multi-Township EMS quickly responded as they were standing by.
