Site last updated: Thursday, March 28, 2024

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Slusser, 25, remembered as 'a good man'

Dylan Slusser
He died in S.C. on way to race

Dylan Slusser had just completed the long road back to the sport he loved.

Now, inexplicably, he’s gone.

Slusser, 25, a Clay Township resident and in his third season as a competitor in the Monster Energy Supercross Series — a national dirt bike racing circuit — died Friday morning at a South Carolina hospital from massive bleeding in the brain.

Slusser was involved in a horrific accident last March during a Supercross Series race in Indianapolis. He suffered two compression fractures in his back, two slipped discs, a punctured lung and shattered sternum, among other injuries.

After spending most of the summer restricted to bed rest and a few months in a back brace, Slusser returned to active dirt bike racing three months ago.

“He competed in both of our (indoor) races here in December and January,” said Switchback racetrack owner Scott Roskovski, who was one of Slusser’s sponsors on the pro circuit. “Dylan rode our track here almost every day.

“He was a great kid, a great racer. I valued his opinion on the track and other things. I’m going to miss him dearly.

“This is devastating,” Roskovski added.

Rick Fratz-Orr of Oakland, Md. — two hours from Pittsburgh — traveled with Slusser to the Supercross Series race in Minneapolis last weekend. The two have been competing in the series together.

Last weekend marked Slusser’s first return to the pro circuit since his accident.

“His first practice run out there, he didn’t do real well,” Fratz-Orr said. “His second session, he shaved five seconds off his time. He shaved another two seconds during the third session.

“Dylan qualified for the night show. For his first time back, that was an incredible achievement. He was back. He was ready to make his mark ... then this. I’m in shock.”

Slusser stopped at Roskovski’s home in Butler at 6 p.m. Wednesday, just before driving overnight to South Carolina. He had planned on getting in some practice runs at a track there before going on to Atlanta for this weekend’s series race.

When Slusser arrived in South Carolina early Thursday morning, he reportedly complained of a serious headache. Then he start vomiting.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital, then transferred to a hospital in Florence (S.C.) where a neurology team worked on him. He died early Friday morning.

“He was at my house 12 hours before he was taken to emergency,” Roskovski said. “We were so looking forward to watching him race in Atlanta ... life happens. I don’t even want to think about this.”

Tanner Blair and Shane Durham grew up riding with Slusser.

“Such a genuine person,” Durham said. “He enjoyed life. He had fun. Everybody liked that guy. There was never a dull moment when he was around.

“Dylan was just getting to feel good again about his racing. I know people say God has a time for everyone and all, but this just shouldn’t happen. It’s way too soon.”

Slusser’s death is not believed to be race-related.

“I would love to say no,” Durham said when asked if any lingering effects from the accident last March may have contributed to Slusser’s death. “But I can’t totally rule that out.

“I don’t believe it did, though. Dylan always seemed to have headaches for years. It was like a running joke with him. Who knows what might have been going on in there?”

Blair said he knew Slusser his whole life and “he was great at what be did ... Sheer talent. I can’t find the words right now. I’m sick over this.”

Jeff Cernic of Johnstown owns the shop where Slusser worked on his bikes. Slusser raced on Cernic’s track in Johnstown as well.

“As great of a competitor as he was, he was also a model to youth, a true leader,” Cernic said. “He was a mentor, someone kids could look up to.

“Dylan always walked around with a smile on his face. He taught riding classes to help the youths, taught them how to ride, how to ride properly and be properly geared. He cared.

“It’s a sad day for racing, for the entire racing community,” Cernic added.

Slusser was successful in the sport at a young age. By the time he was 13, he had already qualified for his fifth Amateur National Motocross Championships in Tennessee.

He qualified for his first main event in the Monster Energy Supercross Series at Detroit’s Ford Field in early March of last year — not long before his ill-fated crash in Indianapolis.

Ty Newcome of Punxsutawney was another competitor who grew up riding with Slusser.

“I was in the same race with him many times and he always had the upper hand on me,” Newcome said. “He succeeded through determination. He got after it and was into it more than anybody.

“His life was all about dirt bikes. He lived for it.”

Slusser was also an organ donor — again, opting to help others.

“It will be a huge void at our track, not having Dylan there anymore,” Roskovski said. “A good kid who grew into a good man.

“He was really respected by everyone.”

More in Local News

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS