Berwick Bandits skipper Danyon Hume suffered two fractured vertebrae in the crash which brought their Cab Direct Championship match against Edinburgh Monarchs to a premature end on Saturday. The English-born rider may face surgery.
Hume (pictured by Taz McDougall) is being assessed at the Northumbria Specialist Care Hospital in Cramlington following the heat 12 crash which also involved Edinburgh reserve Jonatan Grahn who hit the fence heavily as he exited the final bend of the race.
He has been a popular racer during spells with Glasgow, Redcar, Ipswich and Sheffield and paramedics spent over half an hour treating him trackside.
The 28-year-old was then transferred to hospital where he remains with his partner, Jade, who was in the crowd watching the match when the incident happened.
Hume’s parents travelled overnight from their Buckinghamshire home to be at his bedside and Jade posted on Facebook: “Obviously the news is not what we want, but we are thinking positive at the moment.
“We would both like to thank everyone, all Berwick management, the track staff, ambulance crew, our friends, family and all the fans at Berwick speedway. Everyone rallied around.”
Berwick owner Jamie Courtney said: “Our paramedics and track staff were able to give Danyon the best possible care trackside and get him on his way to hospital safely.
“The fans in the stadium and all the riders were aware of the potentially serious nature of the crash and I can only thank them for their patience and understanding as the medical team did their work.”
He added: “This crash underlines just what a dangerous and unforgiving sport speedway can be and how a race, which seemed to be heading for an uneventful shared heat, can suddenly have huge consequences.
“Danyon is one of the sport’s real good guys and we are keeping our fingers crossed. We will support him and his family in every way necessary.”
Berwick’s strict 9.30pm curfew meant that the meeting was abandoned but the results stands and Bandits are next in action at Oxford on Wednesday.
