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Subject: Evel Knievel dies aged 69

Author: Bob

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 09:51:25 12/01/07 Sat Evel Knievel has died at the age of 69. He had been in poor health for some years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs. Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his crashes Knievel gained cult status when he performed a series of death-defying stunts in the 1960s and 70s. In many ways, he is perhaps best remembered for some of his high-publicity failures. In 1968, he attempted to jump 151 feet over the fountains at Caesars Palace casino in Las Vegas, only for the resulting crash to leave him in a coma for 29 days. His 1974 attempt to cross the Snake River Canyon in Idaho - a 1,600 foot leap - on a rocket-powered bike failed he fell into the river after the parachute opened prematurely. By the time of his retirement in 1980 Knievel had broken nearly 40 bones. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]