On the Cold Smoke snowmobile drag races weekend last month, one rider didn鈥檛 make it to the start line.

Dakota Woods, 19, was taking a warm-up run on the practise track beside the main drag strip. He squeezed the throttle-lever hard on his Rev 800. The sled responded just like the racers expect, but it got hung-up on a trench in the snow.

Nobody saw the accident happen, but Dakota and his sled were launched off the track, and judging by his injuries, Dakota hit a tree with a life-threatening impact.

He was immediately evacuated by air-ambulance plane to Vancouver where he remained in a coma for six days.

鈥淚 remember hitting a bad trench,鈥� said Dakota. 鈥淚 tried pulling myself out of it. I remember launching off, but I don鈥檛 remember anything after that.鈥�

鈥淚 just remember waking up in Vancouver.鈥�

At Vancouver General Hospital he underwent surgery to repair a litany of physical damage.

Rob Woods, Dakota鈥檚 father, described the physical trauma.

鈥淎 fractured shoulder, four broken ribs, a fractured hip, surgery to pin fingers together in his hand, four fractured disks and one broken disk in his back, a punctured lung, and a lacerated spleen,鈥� Rob said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 missing anything.鈥�

The rods and screws in Dakota鈥檚 back will stay there for life, but he鈥檒l return to Vancouver in a month to have hardware in his left hand removed. In June, he鈥檒l go back to have his left shoulder re-examined.

鈥淥nce the muscle has started to heal in his shoulder, he鈥檒l be tested for nerve damage,鈥� Rob said.

鈥淚鈥檓 feeling pretty good,鈥� said Dakota. 鈥淚 can walk around. I just can鈥檛 jump or run.鈥�

This was Dakota鈥檚 first year of racing on the snow, although he had two years of pavement racing under his belt already.

鈥淚鈥檒l still race probably, just not for a couple of years till I鈥檓 healed up properly,鈥� he said.

As for many in 亚洲天堂 Lake, racing and sledding are a big part of Dakota鈥檚 life. Rob used to race, and he鈥檚 able to maintain a philosophical attitude towards his son鈥檚 accident.

Rob said that it was tough, as a father, to see Dakota go through an experience like that. But he understands the risks involved.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something you accept when you get on a machine to race,鈥� Rob said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to crash.鈥�

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 expect it to be life-threatening,鈥� Rob added. 鈥淏ut it all worked out pretty well.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 happy. He鈥檚 happy to be alive,鈥� Rob said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 stiff and sore and broken, but time will heal.鈥�