In the early 1990s, there were few riders more influential to the sport of BMX than James Shepard. His contributions to street riding’s style and shape, as well as his video collaborations, made him a legend – first in Austin, Texas and then around the United States.
But on July 4, the 42-year-old BMX star nearly lost his life, doing what he enjoys most.
Shepard was traveling with his BMX bike on South Lamar Boulevard in Austin when a car veered towards his direction, at which point he swerved into a utility pole and was thrown from his bicycle – according to Tom Williams, a close friend of Shepard’s and the owner of a local Austin bike shop. Shepard suffered serious injuries from the incident, including a fractured skull, a broken jaw, a broken neck and a torn ACL.
He spent the next few days at Austin University Medical Center Brackenridge, where he was transported and evaluated after last Thursday’s incident, before being released Wednesday. Now the BMX legend begins the recovery process at his nearby Austin home where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Shepard created Homeless Bikes nearly two decades ago, which at the time was one of the few rider-owned BMX brands; compiled of numerous riders, including Ruben Castillo Ed Koening and Kevin Gutierrez. The brand was responsible for creating the 1992 bike film Trash, one of the most influential videos in the history of street riding and also had a large impact on the evolution of how the sport advertised and marketed its product.
While it is not yet known exactly what happened, or if it was a hit-and-run, a site has been started to help raise money for the injured rider as he now starts the long recovery process, in the hopes of returning to what he loves – cruisin’ around Austin on his bike.
Ed is an MMA/Extreme Sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller, and subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
