PITTSBURGH --Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who last season became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to a Super Bowl title, was badly injured in a motorcycle crash Monday morning and set for surgery.
Roethlisberger, 24, was in serious but stable condition in an operating room, said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital. Jones spoke before going into surgery, The Associated Press reported.
Roethlisberger
"He was alert and conscious" at the scene of the accident, said Ernie Roman, shift commander for the Allegheny County emergency service, told AP.
ESPN.com's John Clayton reported that early indications were the injuries were not life-threatening.
Roethlisberger, the team's first-round choice in the 2004 draft, was transported to the trauma unit of nearby Mercy Hospital.
Witnesses told authorities that Roethlisberger's motorcycle collided with a car near a downtown intersection and that Roethlisberger's head hit the windshield and was bleeding.
Steelers officials have confirmed the accident, which occurred on Second Avenue near the intersection of 10th Street in Pittsburgh, around 11:30 a.m. The route is one often taken in traveling to the Steelers' facility in the Southside section of the city.
The Associated Press reported a silver Chrysler New Yorker with damage to the front passenger fender was removed and Roethlisberger's bike was loaded onto a flatbed truck. Police were detouring traffic around the crash scene as onlookers and media gathered.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Roethlisberger wasn't wearing a helmet.
In the wake of a motorcycle accident sustained by Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow last spring, Roethlisberger spoke about his own fixation with motorcycles and his penchant for riding without a helmet.
Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.
Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."
In May 2005, Steelers coach Bill Cowher lectured Roethlisberger on the dangers of riding without a helmet.
"He talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."
One of his agents, Ryan Tollner, is in route to Pittsburgh for what was supposed to be a pre-planned trip and will arrive later Monday.
One witness told KDKA-TV that Roethlisberger was conscious but appeared disoriented before he was taken from the scene to Mercy Hospital.
Roethlisberger, 24, was in serious but stable condition in an operating room, said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital. Jones spoke before going into surgery, The Associated Press reported.
Roethlisberger
"He was alert and conscious" at the scene of the accident, said Ernie Roman, shift commander for the Allegheny County emergency service, told AP.
ESPN.com's John Clayton reported that early indications were the injuries were not life-threatening.
Roethlisberger, the team's first-round choice in the 2004 draft, was transported to the trauma unit of nearby Mercy Hospital.
Witnesses told authorities that Roethlisberger's motorcycle collided with a car near a downtown intersection and that Roethlisberger's head hit the windshield and was bleeding.
Steelers officials have confirmed the accident, which occurred on Second Avenue near the intersection of 10th Street in Pittsburgh, around 11:30 a.m. The route is one often taken in traveling to the Steelers' facility in the Southside section of the city.
The Associated Press reported a silver Chrysler New Yorker with damage to the front passenger fender was removed and Roethlisberger's bike was loaded onto a flatbed truck. Police were detouring traffic around the crash scene as onlookers and media gathered.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Roethlisberger wasn't wearing a helmet.
In the wake of a motorcycle accident sustained by Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow last spring, Roethlisberger spoke about his own fixation with motorcycles and his penchant for riding without a helmet.
Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.
Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."
In May 2005, Steelers coach Bill Cowher lectured Roethlisberger on the dangers of riding without a helmet.
"He talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."
One of his agents, Ryan Tollner, is in route to Pittsburgh for what was supposed to be a pre-planned trip and will arrive later Monday.
One witness told KDKA-TV that Roethlisberger was conscious but appeared disoriented before he was taken from the scene to Mercy Hospital.