WASHINGTON CITY, Utah — Mark Evans was racing in the St. George Ironman Triathalon on Saturday when he and another cyclist collided with a car that entered the race route.
"I remember shifting into a bigger gear and pedaling harder and just glancing down at my bike computer," Evans recalled, "And when I brought my head up, there was a grayish blue vehicle right in front of me. I feel like I could reach out and touch it."
Evans suffered multiple injuries due to the accident: four broken back vertebrae, four broken ribs, a broken nose, and a major injury to his right arm.
"The real concerning one is the elbow — mid-bicep down to mid-forearm. The skin was completely removed, lots of ligament damage. I'm still unable to move my right hand," said Evans.
On Tuesday, Evans said the other cyclist was in the room next to him recovering. The two have talked about the crash.
"I think, like me, he's a bit frustrated. It was senseless," he said.
Police arrested Diana Linford for allegedly causing the crash. She has been charged with two felony counts of driving under the influence resulting in serious injury, as well as a misdemeanor of driving on a closed highway. She is accused of smoking marijuana prior to the crash.
Linford has also been on Evans' mind.
"I know she didn't wake up in the morning and say, 'I'm going to go ruin someone's life,'" Evans said. "I'm sure she has good qualities like we all do."
Although Evans is still in the hospital recovering from his injuries, he says the crash will not stop him from competing in the future.
"I don't feel like I would be living my full life if I allowed this incident to take that away from me," he said. "I have some catching up to do after 22 years in the military of living my life for me."
He also says the accident hasn't changed his love for Utah.
"Every person I have come across in this community has been nothing but amazing, really," he said. "I go and travel to a lot of these areas, and this is by far one of the best venues you could possibly be at."
As for what's next, Evans looks forward to returning home to North Carolina.
"I'm going to be OK. I might have some lasting injuries, some permanent, but in the big scheme of things, I'm going to see my grandkids and have experiences in life," he said.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Evans with medical expenses.
