Less than 24 hours after he was transported off the Rangeland Derby track in the back of an ambulance, chuckwagon driver Obrey Motowylo returned to the Stampede grounds to watch his wagon race.
“I’ve got a cracked, fractured shoulder and the T-5 in my back is chipped off,” Motowylo told CTV Calgary in the barns. “Right shoulder got ran over so I’ve got some soft tissue damage there and rotator cuff damage and my lines wrapped around my ankle so I’ve got a pretty sore ankle and my wheel hit it also, so a sprained ankle.”
“Other than that, I’m okay.”
During the eighth heat of Tuesday night’s Rangeland Derby, the 46-year-old from Bluffton, Alberta was thrown from his rig in the infield.
“I remember making the turn. They started really hard jumping and the lead team just flopped. They were making a heck of a turn, cranked. All I remember is waking up in an ambulance and them yelling can you feel your toes and move your fingers and the rest is lost. I don't remember.”
Motowylo says he’s appreciative of the support he’s received and the willingness of Codey McCurrach to drive his team under the League Projects Ltd. canvas for the remainder of the races.
“It's awesome. The wagon family is a big extended family. Competitive on the track but, off the track, just a big family.”
According to the World Pro Chuckwagon Association, the track was a bit sticky on Tuesday night following afternoon rain but it has not been determined if the condition of the track was a factor in Motowylo’s crash.
