Utah Snowboarder Credits Helmet With Saving His Life After Crash

PROVO, Utah – A Utah County man said wearing a helmet saved his life after he crashed while snowboarding at Sundance Mountain Resort.

Max Jensen, 25, said he was snowboarding with his father and uncle earlier this month when he took a jump going just a bit too fast.

“I just hit this jump with a little too much speed,” he said. “My board hit the lip of the jump and threw me into the air. I came down onto my head and right shoulder — it was pretty bad.”

Jensen’s father alerted ski patrol members who helped get Jensen down the mountain to an ambulance.

Finn Jensen said he knew his son had a concussion before paramedics said things were much worse.

“When they told us he had a broken back and four broken ribs and that we were going to the Intensive Care Unit, that was a scary moment,” he said.

Max Jensen is currently going through physical therapy treatments for his back and rib injuries.

He said he doesn’t remember much about the crash, but his helmet now tells much of the story.

“I hit my head hard enough to where the crack would be this long and a crack that deep as well,” Jensen said.

Physician assistant Adam Phillips at Intermountain’s Utah Valley Hospital said they see dozens of patients yearly who could have been spared an extensive head injury if they had been wearing a helmet.

“I tell people all the time, a helmet is the difference from getting up, saying, ‘Oh dude, did you see that?! That was awesome,’ versus your mom changing your underwear for the rest of your life,” Phillips said.

Finn Jensen said he always has his kids wear helmets while on the slopes and this time, that helmet saved his son’s life. Max Jensen has a few weeks left of physical therapy but he and his father said they will be snowboarding again, with their helmets.