Firefighter in intensive care after ATV wreck during Parker 250

An area firefighter’s condition has slightly improved in a Phoenix hospital after wrecking his ATV during the Parker 250 race last weekend.

Steven Parkerson, who works at Quartzsite Fire Department and McMullen Valley Fire Department, has been racing since he was a child, according to his coworker and childhood friend Samantha Hess.

“He’s been doing this for a very, very long time,” Samantha told Parker Live. “He grew up in Salome and still lives there.”

Steven was wearing all the protective gear, but was thrown off his quad during last weekend’s race and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was airlifted from Parker to ICU at West Valley Hospital in Phoenix, where doctors said at first that they didn’t expect him to survive.

“Since then his chances have improved dramatically,” Samantha said. “It’s a waiting game now. He’s on a ventilator, and breathing on his own too, so it’s been 50/50. They’re keeping him sedated most of the time but when he does wake up he’s able to move both arms and both legs, and open his right eye. He’s been having his ups and downs, good days and bad days, over the past week.”

Samantha described Steven as “amazing” and said lots of people had been very concerned and the community had shown its support for him. A GoFundMe fundraiser (embedded below) has raised over $5700 at time of writing toward Steven’s expenses.

The brief reads in part: “Steven is a loving son, brother, friend, boyfriend, and step father of two beautiful children.”

Although Best In The Desert has an excellent safety record, accidents do happen in off-road racing and area agencies typically prepare for a high level of responsiveness when things go wrong. The Parker 425 is next on the racing calendar, on February 6th.

Quartzsite Fire Department is having a pancake breakfast for Steven on January 31st from 8am – noon at $5 per plate.