Two of Taiwan's Olympic team members were involved in a near-fatal crash with a semi-tractor trailer in the US, leaving one athlete in critical condition in intensive care.
Team Taiwan spokesman Sam Huang (
The accident happened on Tuesday morning along Interstate 80 near Davenport, Iowa, when Huang lost control of his truck and veered across the highway.
"We slid off the road and hit an oncoming 18-wheeler truck," Huang said in an e-mail to the Taipei Times.
"Steve was ejected from the truck. He has a broken right femur, punched major artery to the heart, broken ribs, collapsed lung and injury to his spleen."
Both men were taken to the trauma unit at the Genesis Medical Center-East Campus in Davenport.
Huang said he was slightly hurt, but Lee underwent emergency surgery and lost a kidney that was severed damaged in the accident.
Sections of his large intestine were removed and a section of his small intestine was removed, repaired and reattached, Huang said.
"Steve lost four liters of blood, which in his case was two-thirds of his entire blood supply," he added.
Lee is listed as being in critical condition on a breathing machine, with tubes to his lungs to drain excess fluids.
"Hopefully he will be off it [the breathing machine] in three to four days," Huang said.
The semi-tractor trailer was driven by Canadian Boriss Godunovs, 27, of Ontario -- who was unscathed in the crash -- the Associated Press reported, while Huang was released from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
Huang, who lives in LaPorte, Indiana, said the accident occurred at 7:30am.
"I suffered minor abrasions and bumps to my left side and Steve was almost killed."
Taiwan's other Olympic athletes landed without fanfare at Chiang Kai-shek Airport yesterday morning.
Honorary President of the Chinese Taipei Amateur Luge and Bobsleigh Association Hsu Chi-you (許啟祐) said Lee's teammates and mother had been informed of the accident.
He said Lee's mother, who lives in Tainan County, would be flying out to be at her son's side.
"Ourselves and the government are very concerned about this and we have taken immediate action," Hsu said.
The National Council of Physical Fitness and Sports has given Lee's mother NT$50,000 for the trip as well as arranging her flight to Chicago, where she will be met by Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials at the airport, Hsu said.
"His [Lee's] relatives here have been contacted by family members and they say the operation went well."
"This is a terrible end to the Games for us and we are very sorry about it," Hsu said.
Taiwan came in 29th out of 29 finishers in the four-man bobsled event in which Lee was the "fifth man." It came 47th and 48th out of 48 in the luge event.
The country's athletes and their luge and bobsled association clashed with government officials both before and throughout the Games.
They said there had been a lack of funding for their campaign and were forced to borrow a sled for Olympic competition from a Salt Lake City high school.
There have also been allegations Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee members were giving away guest passes to friends, depriving team members of access to events.
There is expected to be an inquiry within the week about the future of Taiwan's Winter Games program.
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