Olympic rider Darren Chiacchia in critical condition after fall
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.---- Olympic equestrian Darren Chiacchia remained unconscious and in critical condition Monday with a severe head injury after falling off his horse during a weekend competition.
Doctors ruled out a spinal injury after extensive testing, his brother said. The 42-year-old rider sustained multiple rib fractures and injuries to both lungs. He was breathing on his own after being taken off of a ventilator.
''The fact that he's breathing on his own is great, but he's got a long way to go,'' Daniel Chiacchia said.
Chiacchia, a 2004 U.S. Olympic equestrian team member, fell at a fence at the Red Hills Horse Trials competition Saturday. He was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he remained in the intensive care unit.
The horse, Baron Verdi, wasn't hurt.