Cyclist in ICU after crash in Colorado while Racing Across America to raise awareness for child trafficking

Trinidad, Colo. (KRDO) - Jeff Conaway was on his second day of Racing Across America with his team when he crashed unexpectedly, resulting in injuries that landed him in the ICU. His 30-person team, not including him, raced with Zoe International, a nonprofit that fights child trafficking.

Conaway sustained a head injury, a broken scapula, a broken collarbone, and will need surgery, though he remains in stable condition. He does not remember the accident, according to Brad Ortenzi, the team manager.

Conaway was in a part of the race where regulations did not permit the following car to be close to him, though the car was only a few minutes away and found him on the ground.

The cause of the crash is still unknown because no one witnessed it and Conaway is suffering from memory loss of the incident. It was a windy day and Conaway was racing quickly.

“We also know that it was very windy that day. So gusts of winds, these bikes are pretty light. They're made light so they're fast and sometimes gusts of winds can make the bike unstable and that can cause a fall," said Ortenzi.

The team was in a part of Colorado with little to no cell service, but when the team finally got a hold of emergency services, they were notified that his Garmin bike computer had sent an emergency signal to the authorities and they were on their way. Conaway was first taken to a local hospital, then airlifted to a hospital in Colorado Springs. The team continues to race without him.

Conaway was part of an eight-person cycling team, with 23 supporting team members. The cycling team is split into two groups of four, who ride for six hours each every day. His four-person team now only has three. As of the morning of June 21st, the team was in Jefferson, Missouri.

"The unique thing about Race Across America is that once it starts, it never stops. It's a 24-hour-a-day thing until you reach the end," said Ortenzi.

Though Conaway recovers from bed, he asked the team to "continue the race without him," and apologized for slowing the team down.

"So you know, there's that part of it ... that we're missing him," said Ortenzi. "But there's another part ... that unified us and it made us it strengthened our resolve too because we're battling this out on a bike to bring awareness to child trafficking."

Zoe International is an organization that raises awareness for child trafficking, rescues children who have been trafficked and educates children to stop the human trafficking cycle all over the world. They typically send a team every other year to "Race Across America" to raise money and awareness for their cause.

Conaway was a substitute rider the last time Zoe International entered a team, but none of the racers were injured, so he cheered them on instead of cycling. This is his first year racing with the team, though, according to Ortenzi, he is an experienced athlete.

The racing team is about two-thirds of their way through the race, and now races with two purposes in mind –– for the children, and for Conaway.

"But now there's simultaneously we're riding for Jeff as well," said Ortenzi. "We want to finish strong for him. He's cheering us on from his hospital bed."