Bike crash Wattle Park - dangerous holes dug in path

I went for a local ride through Wattle Park with my daughter on Wednesday afternoon 15 Sep 21 at 4pm.  A hole was dug out of the track and sticks placed in it, I slowed down as I went around it. 

 

Hole on approach with sticks in it.

Then I came to a small log jump that I have gone over many times.  The location is here.

Approach to log jump

I went over the log at about 10km/h ready for the flat landing but a 1m wide deep hole had been dug behind the log. This hole was not visible on the approach.

Hole dug behind the log

Hole dug behind the log

After going over the log my front wheel dropped into the hole and I went over the handlebars, I landed on my head and right wrist and was injured.

I walked up to the carpark where my wife picked me up and drove to hospital. 

In hospital emergency

A cat scan showed I have a fracture in my T3 vertebrae luckily not near the spinal cord.

An x-ray showed a serious fracture of my right metacarpal bone that required surgery and a wire to stabilise.

I was lucky - landing on my head could have damaged my spinal chord resulting in death or quadriplegia

This extremely dangerous track modification could have resulted in death or permanent injury. There has been at least one other crash there. It has been reported to police and Parks Victoria who will remove the hazards. Last time I checked it was still there.

Be careful during lockdown, watch out for obstacles and dangerous behaviour. Don't do things that endanger others.