Australian BMX champ dies in celebration accident
The following story, which appeared today [25/11/2011] in the papers across Australia, really disheartened me and made me both sad and angry.
'A top Australian BMX rider has died from massive injuries he sustained while apparently trying to leap from a balcony into a swimming pool. Dane Searls, 23, had been fighting for his life since he fell from a first-floor balcony at a nightclub in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast on Sunday night. Reports said he had been attempting to dive into the pool but hit the concrete around the water instead.
"The man... was taken to the intensive care unit of the Gold Coast Hospital after the incident, however he died this morning,"
Queensland police said in a statement, adding that a report would be forwarded to the coroner. Searls, famous for completing huge dirt jumps on his bike, was at the nightclub celebrating after pulling off one of the biggest leaps ever attempted. The extreme sportsman had achieved a series of BMX jumps across gaps of up to 18 metres (60 feet).
"On the weekend he had been performing on 60-foot BMX jumps with backflips and other tricks and doing them comfortably," Paul Everest from Unit, one of Searls' main sponsors, told the Courier Mail newspaper.'
This week sees thousands of HSC students celebrating the end of their exams. Sometimes in the midst of celebration there are judgements made that are less than wise. For Dane Searls, a brilliant BMX rider, a judgement made at a time of genuine celebration cost him his life.
Many years ago a wise old Pastor told me, “Peter, be as cautious in the times of euphoria as you are when all seems lost.”
I have never forgotton this advice and encourage those who find themselves with much to celebrate to do the same.
Yours
Peter
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