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Ben: 'Seconds Away From Dying'

POSTED: 5:26 pm EDT July 12, 2006
UPDATED: 6:07 pm EDT July 13, 2006

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is giving his first public interviews since being involved in a downtown motorcycle crash that sent him to Mercy Hospital for hours of surgery last month.

Roethlisberger spoke one-on-one with ESPN's Jim Rome before appearing at the ESPY Awards taping in Hollywood on Wednesday night.

The Steelers star told Rome that the paramedics said he was "literally seconds, maybe a minute away from dying," because he slit a vein or artery that was draining blood into his stomach.

Roethlisberger hasn't decided if he'll ride a motorcycle again, but said if he does, he will wear a helmet -- which he wasn't doing when he crashed.

Then, on Friday, a Roethlisberger interview with Robin Roberts will be seen on ABC's "Good Morning America." The show airs at 7 a.m. on WTAE-TV, following Channel 4 Action News This Morning.

A promotional image from the GMA interview shows Roethlisberger wearing a baseball cap. What looks to be a small scar is visible just below the bill of his hat. There is also a noticeable bump on his nose, which was broken in the crash.



Roethlisberger has several events coming up on his schedule, including a golf tournament starting Thursday in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and a video shoot with country music group The Poverty Neck Hillbillies next week at Heinz Field.

Channel 4 Action News anchor Andrew Stockey will be in Lake Tahoe with live reports tonight on Channel 4 Action News.


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