Eco-Challenge competitor David Laux, 29, of Team Ernst & Young [go to Team Bio], was airlifted to the medical center, having crashed during the first few kilometers of the mountain bike leg.

While negotiating a steep turn, Laux, who once survived a skydiving accident, pedaled into a protruding branch, puncturing his chest and collapsing his left lung.

The team, which includes three first-time Eco-Challengers and one veteran -- all from Houston, Texas -- had checked out of PC 12 at 11:15 a.m. in 45th place. They had completed the 116-kilometer Perahu sailing leg in roughly two days, four hours.

After the crash, Laux's teammates administered first aid and ignited smoke signals. The Eco-Challenge medical team, headed by Dr. Adrian Cohen, arrived within minutes.

Laux's condition was stabilized at the scene. He was given intravenous fluids and a chest tube before being transferred to the Eco-Challenge field hospital, back at PC 12, via helicopter. Medical crews carefully carried Laux from the helicopter to the medical center, and after receiving further treatment, he was transported by air ambulance to Kota Kinabalu on the west coast of Sabah.

Dr. Cohen, Eco-Challenge medical director, explained the situation. "The patient is stable and doing well," he said. "The competitor has a left traumatic pneumothorax (collapsed lung)."

Upon reaching Kota Kinabalu, Laux called his wife back in the United States from his hospital room, notifying her of the news.

Despite the injury, at Laux's request, the remaining members of Team Ernst & Young -- Tracy Fee, Brad Pennington and Nancy Bristow -- will continue to race unranked. Laux wanted them to see the country they had come to explore, rather than the inside of his hospital room.

As they become available, updates concerning Laux's condition will be posted on this Web site.


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