A day after a scary bus crash in upstate New York that injured Weezer singer Rivers Cuomo and his assistant, more information has been released about the extent of the injuries to the pair.
In a post on the band's Web site, longtime friend and blogger Karl Koch revealed that Cuomo suffered a small cut to his spleen and a small lung puncture in the accident, which took place in the early morning hours on Sunday just outside of Albany.
"It's been a full day and a half since the terrifying bus accident that hurt Rivers and his assistant Sarah [Kim], and everyone in the Weezer camp is very grateful for the outpouring of concern and support that has happened since the news broke," Koch wrote. Kim — who suffered two fractured ribs and a fractured lower vertebra in the crash — went home on Monday, and Cuomo's condition improved quite a bit.
"Rivers has had a much better day than yesterday," Koch reported. "He went from being barely able to talk and open his eyes yesterday to partially sitting up, talking clearly, reading books and checking the Internet, plus his color and energy seemed much brighter."
Monday evening brought good news about the internal injuries that the singer suffered when his bus hit some black ice and skidded down into a muddy ravine. Koch said doctors are carefully monitoring the internal injuries, noting that the lung puncture was small enough that the lung did not fully collapse and will likely not need surgery, but that doctors have to carefully watch it to make sure no fluid builds up.
"Today the doctor announced that Rivers' blood pressure had stabilized, meaning the spleen was no longer leaking — it was on the mend," he added. "And his lung seemed to be gaining strength and holding up, meaning it too looks like it will mend itself with time. All this is great news so far. Plus he was given the go ahead to eat some real food again — a very positive sign!"
Cuomo will attempt to stand up on Tuesday, and if he appears to continue improving and his vital signs remain stable, he may be able to go home soon. One of the mysteries of the crash aftermath was how Cuomo sustained a lower leg injury, since he did not recall sustaining trauma to his leg during the accident. Koch said the singer was "totally unable to move" his leg after the accident, which struck doctors as odd, since there appeared to be no broken bones or signs of impact. After a day of icing and compression, Cuomo was finally able to wiggle his toes again on Monday, and the singer remembered a detail that might explain the pain.
Cuomo recalled his foot hurting late in the night before the crash and thought that he may have injured it during the band's show in Toronto the night before, during the cover of MGMT's "Kids" and Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" that has become a staple of the Weezer live experience. Cuomo appeared in the bleachers in the crowd wearing a blond wig for the songs and was supposed to return to the stage via a set of stairs on the floor level.
"But during the song, lots of fans ran over to the closed seating area and danced around Rivers as he sang," Koch wrote. "Once the song was over, security had a hard time getting the people to return to their seats, and Rivers made his way down to the edge of the seats on an unplanned route, trying to get back to the stage as quickly as possible. When he got to the end, there were no stairs, and with the lights low for song changeover, he couldn't tell he was about 6 feet off the floor level. I was directly below him and reached up hoping he'd grab my hand but in the darkness he couldn't see me, and he launched over the railing onto the floor 6 feet below."
The singer landed the jump and finished the set with what was likely a sprained ankle. Koch also speculated that Cuomo's internal injuries occurred when he struck the bus ceiling after the vehicle dropped 8-10 feet into the ravine, as he rode his mattress into the air and possibly hit a light fixture or something else on the ceiling.
Due to the accident, Weezer canceled the rest of their December tour dates.