Saturday, May 2, 2009

Saturday Night Update: DeCamillis Breaks Back

((HT: AJC/Marcus Garner))

Dallas Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis broke his back and 11 more were injured when winds just shy of tornado strength ripped through the roof of the team’s indoor practice facility during a rookie minicamp Saturday.

DeCamillis was the Atlanta Falcons special teams coach from 1997-2006.

Former Falcons coach Dan Reeves, DeCamillis’ father-in-law, said the first-year Dallas coach has a couple of broken vertebrae in his lower back.

“They say he’s lucky not to be paralyzed,” said Reeves, adding that DeCamillis probably will have surgery. The coach was seen being removed on a stretcher wearing a neck brace.

The storm hit while 27 players were going through workouts. There were about 70 people in the facility, counting coaches, other team personnel and media, officials said.

Ten of the injured were taken by emergency vehicles. Two others went to hospitals on their own.

"This worked out very, very well from a medical point of view," said Dr. Paul Pepe, head of emergency medical services for Dallas County. "Right now, I think we don't have anybody who is in a life-threatening situation."

Here's the early part of the video shot by FoxDFW's Larry Rodriguez...
You can actually hear someone telling Rodriguez "to be careful. You cut your hand." Rodriguez kept working and would need six stitches to close the wound on his left hand...
((Some audio, obviously, NSFW))

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