SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A 20-year-old Spokane man is still in the hospital after suffering severe injuries in a mountain biking accident earlier this month.
Alex and Matt Hermanson, twins and avid mountain bikers, are well-known in Spokane County’s biking community. They continued their love of mountain biking in college and often ride together at Beacon Hill when home in Spokane.
“They lived and breathed mountain biking,” said Mike Hermanson, Alex and Matt’s father.
At the beginning of April, the brothers were in North Carolina preparing for a race when Alex collided head-on with a tree.
“I was watching for him to come down and I overheard one of the course marshals’ radios go off and say there was a rider down and they needed a medic up there,” he said. “My heart kind of dropped out. My stomach kind of dropped out. I realized the seriousness of it. And then when Alex got down, he was very distressed,” said Matt.
The crash shattered several of Alex’s vertebrae and left him unable to feel his feet.
Alex was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where he has since undergone multiple surgeries.
“It was just overwhelming, gut-wrenching. You name it. It was truly a parent’s worst nightmare,” said Mike.
Alex and Matt’s mother, Lori Hermanson, described the ordeal as a “roller coaster.”
“He’s had three surgeries and just a lot of trauma to his body. It’s been a struggle to be able to breathe,” she said.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Alex is showing signs of improvement and has regained some feeling, according to his family. However, the full extent of his injuries remains unknown.
His family said they expect he will be in a wheelchair after his release from the hospital.
Community members wishing to support the family can contribute to Alex’s GoFundMe here.
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