SEATTLE — It was easy to hear in the voices of the television commentators that they knew right away it was a serious crash.
"Right into Alldredge’s ribs," exclaimed one commentator.
The accident happened just before 5 p.m. during the qualifying heats at the Monster Energy Supercross at CenturyLink Field Saturday.
The collision happened so quickly, the stadium so large, many spectators told us they didn't actually see it.
"We saw it actually on the replay," said Jacob Horn, spectator.
That is when Horn knew something had happened.
"So we saw the red flags go up," said Horn. "And then we watched the replay and we saw the guy down. And he actually scooted his bike off and then dropped it and then was carried off on a hard board kind of stretcher device."
Fans say accidents are common in supercross, a series of motorcycle races on a dirt track held inside a stadium. One spectator sent us this video of a minor crash that also happened Saturday night, but no one was hurt.
Still, it was sobering even to those very familiar with the sport.
"It's a very dangerous sport," said Sam Crooks.
"Maybe that's part of the attraction?" he was asked.
"Yeah, I think so," said Crooks. "Yeah, definitely. No one wants to see anyone get hurt, though."
The injured rider is Chris Alldredge, 21 from California.
He sent tweets saying he is okay. But then he listed his injuries: fractured lower spine, a partially collapsed lung, a fractured rib and fractured pelvis.
But he was apparently alert enough to send tweets.
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