News Mike Vincent

Our good friend Mike Vincent has an interview up on FatBMX.com about the trials and tribulations of trying to regain his vision. To give you guys a quick refresher, here’s an excerpt:

For those who don’t know you or who haven’t heard about your accident, can you fill them in real quick what happened so they’re up to speed for the rest of the interview? Well, just over 2 1/2 years ago my life was turned upside down. As many of you know, I was hit by a car while riding my bike in Los Angeles. I was in the bike lane and the girl that hit me actually drove into the bike lane. She threw me 30 feet. I was hospitalized for 6 months, then went for out-patient therapy for another 4 months. Two months after the accident, I completely lost my vision in both eyes. I had four brain surgeries, lung surgery, a trach, a feeding tube, numerous broken bones and two eye surgeries. I racked up over $3.5M in medical expenses in California alone. The girl that hit me had $100K insurance, which the State of CA had a lien on. So, my life was stripped from me and she didn’t get cited and only had to experience higher insurance premiums.

Read the interview for the full story and how you can help.

Jim just put up a lot of great things on eBay to auction off and benefit Mike Vincent. Pictured above is just a small sample of what’s available. Head over to eBay to check it out.

Here’s a quick reminder for the Mike Vincent Benefit Ride / Raffle going on this Sunday. For more information about the cause and Mike Vincent, you can check out this latest ESPN article. It looks like there’s some promising hope that he’ll be able to regain his vision.

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Mike Vincent and Jimmy Levan

There’s a Mike Vincent benefit ride happening next month in the LA area and rather than just post details about it, Brian Tunney decided to interview Mike for the ESPN site. In it, you can learn a little more about his accident and his background in BMX. Details about the event are below:

It’s a 27-mile ride throughout the Los Angeles area, with a raffle and t-shirts being sold afterwards. Last year, the event raised over $2200, and they’re currently seeking donations for this year’s raffle. The event goes down on April 5, 2009 at 12:30 PM. If you’re in the L.A. area, come out and enjoy the ride. And if you’re a company looking to donate prizes towards the raffle, your donations are very welcome.

If you’d like to make a contribution or need additional information on how to donate to the cause, please e-mail nicelyd(at)verizon[dot]net.

And if you’ve got a box of swag you’re looking to donate (t-shirts, bike gear, backpacks, artwork, anything), here’s the mailing address:

Level 3 Post; Attn: Jeff Stroot
2901 W. Alameda Ave.
Burbank, CA 91505

Ebay Auction established to raise funds for injured Action Sports BMX Athlete Mike Vincent:

LOS ANGELES (July 12, 2008) — On January 18, while riding his bike to work Mike Vincent, a former BMX rider who has been a prominent fixture in the sport for many years, was struck by a car. He sustained major head trauma and many bodily injuries, including the possibility of permanent loss of sight. Like many action sports athletes, Mike did not have any insurance at the time of the accident therefore payment for all of his treatment and future rehabilitation and surgeries, outside of a life-threatening emergency, will have to come out of his own pocket.

In addition to competing in BMX, Mike has worked as a judge for all of the major action sports competitions, including the X Games, LG Action Sports World Tour, AST Dew Tour, and the former Gravity Games. He has also been a part of most of the core BMX competitions, including Rebel Jam and the CFB events. During the off-season he worked as a professional caddy at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, in Gainesville, VA.

Over the last few months the industry has assisted Mike by participating in local fundraisers and donating their heart, time and money when needed. However, the need is greater than anyone could have ever imagined and the support must continue in every way possible. Realizing that at any time Mike’s plight could be their own, the industry has established an Ebay auction to raise funds for Mike’s current and future treatment. At the 6th month mark of Mike’s accident, an auction will be opened on EBay. On Friday, July 18th, at 12:00 PM EST the auction will go live online. Many athletes and friends have graciously donated items for this cause. All items will be offered for only 10 days. Final bids must be completed by 12:00 PM EST on July 27th.

Click continue for full list of prizes

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