The Accident
The adrenaline rushed through Chris Edens’ body as he chased down the leader of the adult Stock Light class on a hot, humid September night in Little Rock, AR. At fourteen years old, Chris proved to be quite the adversary in dirt oval kart racing forcing the limits of those twice his age. Chris positioned himself only inches away from the kart in first place pressuring the driver to push beyond his abilities and make a mistake, an old racing trick he learned from his father. For ten laps he waited patiently for the right moment when he would overtake first place. It wasn’t long until the back of the lead kart broke loose from the dirt providing a wide-open door for Chris to pass. Without hesitation, he laid into the gas and launched his kart into the gap. For a split second, he tasted the lead. In an attempt to remain in the race, the opposing driver over-corrected the rotation of his kart positioning him back towards Chris. Before Chris could break away, they collided into the infield. A caution flag was thrown.
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Since Chris was involved in the incident, both drivers were made to restart at the back of the field. There were twenty-five karts racing in his class that night, and Chris knew that if he wanted to see the podium he would need to work his way back up all twenty-five karts in half the time. The green flag dropped and he took off. One kart. Two karts. Three karts. He began knocking out the back half of the field weaving his way in and out of traffic. Seven karts. Eight karts. By the end of the back straightaway and heading into turn three at Optimist Park Raceway, he had regained top speed momentum of 60mph. Chris broke higher than the normal line of the corner apex into turn three to perform a simple crossover maneuver he had executed beautifully multiple times. This move renders competitors helpless to any perceived defensive maneuvering allowing him to pull away on the inside line. He turned sharply towards the low side of the track through turn four and slid tightly behind the unsuspecting opposing driver to clear the pass. Seconds before Chris began the descent of the crossover, Donnie Sturdivant spun through turn four stopping backwards on the inside line. As Chris whipped out from behind the kart to complete the pass, he hit Donnie head on.
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After about thirty seconds, the kart came to a stop at the bottom of small dirt mound in the infield. Chris made several attempts to slow the kart through braking but couldn’t apply enough pressure to move the pedal. At this point, he knew his legs were hurt but didn’t yet understand the severity of his injuries. He had been taught by his mother, a paramedic, not to remove his helmet and to remain very still after a wreck. There is always the possibility of a spinal fracture from sudden impact, and it’s highly likely that moving cervical fractures will sever the spinal cord leading to paralysis or even death. He waited for help to arrive.