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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Though the news only broke on Friday afternoon, Shane Del Rosario's car accident happened in mid-April according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.
Speaking with Del Rosario's trainer, Colin Oyama, the MMAJunkie report got more information about the accident, and unfortunately Del Rosario may have difficulties in getting back to action.
Del Rosario was hit by an allegedly intoxicated woman on April 14th while at a stoplight, and his injuries are severe enough that his trainer is concerned about whether or not he'll be able to make a full recovery.
"He's having some serious physical difficulties," Oyama said. "He's planning on [fighting again], but the injuries are serious enough to where it's kind of in question whether he can or not. We're hoping that he can. We'll know more in six months."
"He was at a complete stop. This lady was drunk at 6 p.m. – I'm not sure how you're drunk at 6 p.m. – but she lost control of her car, smashed into him, and apparently tried to flee the scene. The cops chased her down and caught her."
The woman in question, Kimberly Essayian, was arrested and booked on DUI charges by the Orange County Police Department, and with his car totaled, Del Rosario is currently going through the legal process against her, which is adding another set of issues to his situation.
"He's been trying to go to rehab as much as possible, but it's difficult with the lawsuit in what you can and can't do," Oyama said. "Everything you do is affecting the lawsuit. People following him (and saying), 'Oh, he's not hurt, he can walk.' It's like, come on. Are you kidding me?"
"If anything it will become a big legal distraction for him. But as far as training, he won't be able to train for probably another two or three months."
Del Rosario was supposed to face Daniel Cormier next month at Strikeforce's June 18 event in Dallas, Texas, but his injuries forced him out of the fight. A lightweight bout between K.J. Noons and Jorge Masvidal is expected to replace that fight on the card.
Penick's Analysis: That's not good news at all. I was hoping to hear it would be a less serious injury, but it's likely a multitude of things if he was at a stand still and his car was totaled. Sadly it's just another of the many examples of idiotic people getting behind the wheel of a vehicle when they're very much not in shape to do so, and people get hurt or worse. Hopefully Del Rosario can get through this legal process in a relatively quick amount of time, and more importantly I hope his rehab all goes well. He's a very talented fighter and bright prospect and it would be a shame to have his career severely affected by some idiotic drunk driver.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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