BMX star dies attempting jump on a motorcycle
Pat Casey, 29, was at a track in San Diego County when he lost control, officials say.
RAMONA, Calif. — Pat Casey, a star BMX rider and X Games medalist, died last week while attempting a jump on a motocross bike at a private track in San Diego County, authorities said. He was 29.
Casey was riding the bike about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on the track, known as “The Slayground,” in Ramona when he lost control and was thrown, the San Diego County medical examiner’s office said.
Bystanders called 911, but Casey had no pulse when paramedics arrived, the examiner’s office said. Paramedics tried advanced cardiac life-support measures, but he could not be resuscitated.
Although Casey was known for his BMX riding, he was riding a motorcycle when he crashed, Sheriff’s Lt. Daniel Vengler said.
Officer Jared Grieshaber of the California Highway Patrol said Casey tried a jump but missed the landing.
Casey, who lived in Riverside, was married and the father of two elementaryschool-age children.
According to a biography of Casey posted on the Vans company website, he went pro by the time he was 16 and bought a house at the age of 18, where he created a ramp and trails in the backyard known as “The Dreamyard.”
“Pat’s daily sessions are on a level that few will ever touch,” the company said, recalling how he learned on a 6-foot-tall mini ramp his father built in his backyard when Casey was 12.
Casey was the first rider to successfully execute elaborate bicycle motocross stunts called the “decade backflip” and “double decade backflip” in competition, according to news accounts.
Many took to social media to post tributes to Casey, who won medals at the X Games in 2012 and 2013, and won his first gold medal from the X Games in 2021.
On its Instagram page, X Games said it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
“A true legend in the action sports community, Pat will always be a member of the X Games family and an inspiration to everyone’s life he touched,” the post reads.
BMX rider T.J. Lavin, who hosts MTV’s “The Challenge,” posted a picture of Casey on his Instagram page.
“The world lost one of the baddest to ever do it,” Lavin wrote.
The Ramona track is owned by motocross and supercross racing star Axell Hodges, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in 2021.