Roczen unsure he did anything wrong in crash that could've cost him his arm
Ken Roczen is undergoing his seventh surgery Monday following a crash at Anaheim on Jan. 21 that could’ve cost him his arm.
The HRC Honda rider was running in third place during the 450SX Main Event at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, when he went down hard, resulting in a dislocated wrist and elbow as well as a compound fracture to the left forearm.
Over the course of the past two weeks, Roczen has been routinely posting injury updates to Instagram. On Sunday, Roczen admitted to his followers that he can’t see anything he did wrong that led to the crash, and that he could have lost his arm had he not had immediate medical attention.
“To be honest, I don’t see anything I did wrong,” says Roczen. “Not like the previous years where I go, ‘Man, that was stupid,’ but riding/racing you have to act quick... very! And in the end you can't pause the world and think about what you are going to do for a second.
“But like I said, I would love to look at the crash and say, ‘Ohhh, that's what happened!’ But I can't. Not sure if that makes it easier or harder.
“I got VERY lucky that I really just demolished my arm because at that speed and height it could have been very ugly. It was still scary coming out of the first surgery and Dr. Viola said if it wouldn't have been done now I could have lost my arm. I started having compartment syndrome, which means my muscles and everything were so swollen from the impact that they stopped getting blood flow and slowly stop working. And once the muscle is dead there is no bringing it back.
“Tough pill to swallow, but hey, could have been worse. Felt like telling the story. But it's good to hear that things are gonna be fine. Just gotta be patient.”
Ryan Dungey leads the 450SX standings by just 17 points over Eli Tomac heading into AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, this weekend. Coverage begins 10 p.m. ET Saturday night on FS1.
Roczen’s full Instagram post:
