PARK CITY — Less than two weeks after Danny Davis dedicated his record-setting, Grand Prix win to injured friend and fellow snowboarder Kevin Pearce, the Olympic hopeful suffered a season-ending back injury in an ATV accident in Park City.
Friends found Davis lying unconscious on the ground about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and took him to Park City Medical Center, according to a report from the Summit County Sheriff's Office. He was later transported to a hospital in Salt Lake City by ambulance and underwent surgery to repair a fractured vertebrae in his lower back Monday, according to his Facebook Page.
Davis was apparently celebrating his Dew Tour win at a home in the Preserve Housing development Saturday night. He left the residence on a four-wheeler and hit a closed metal gate in front of a private driveway, the sheriff's report said.
Davis was thrown from the ATV and sustained leg injures, as well as apparently a fracture to his L3 (the third lumbar vertebrae). The 21-year-old Michigan native won the Winter Dew Tour's Superpipe Finals Saturday night at Snowbasin with a thrilling run that included a 1080 double cork.
"I'm definitely excited about the win tonight, and it's always good to land on the podium with your friends," Davis said at the time.
Davis has won both Winter Dew Tour events this season and was expected to make the Olympic team with a solid performance this weekend in Park City at the final Grand Prix.
He landed an unprecedented trio of double corks to earn the win at Grand Prix in Mammoth Mountain on Jan. 5 edging Shaun White, who took second in Saturday's Dew Tour Superpipe event and leads the Grand Prix standings.
In winning with the historic run, Davis said it was inspiration from his friend Pearce, who suffered a severe head injury while training in Park City on Dec. 31, that helped him accomplish something he hadn't even been able to do in training.
"I had Kev on my mind and right before every run I was making sure I had him in spirit. I know we're sending vibes back to each other and it was good," Davis said after the Grand Prix. "I asked Kev to help me through that one... He's not up, but we're mentally on the same wavelength now. He's helped me through my runs and it's been nice to have him."
Now friends and fellow athletes are praying for Davis, as well as wishing him well on his Facebook page. A statement on his page said he will not compete the rest of the 2010 season, which includes the X Games in two weeks.
The Dew Tour is a series of competitions for the Dew Cup, while the Grand Prix is a circuit that determines which athletes will represent the U.S. at the 2010 Olympic Games.
Headed into this weekend's competition, Davis was definitely one of the favorites. He is currently third behind Shaun White and Sandy's Louie Vito, respectively. The entire U.S. Olympic Snowboard team will be announced Saturday after the competition.
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com