Mario Bonfante Jr. breaks his neck, undergoes surgery
Gilroy – A Gilroy teen, who fell while riding through a dirt bike course in Christmas Hill Park Friday evening, is being treated for a broken neck at a San Jose area hospital.
Mario Bonfante Jr., 17, his half-brother and a friend were riding their BMX bikes over jumps in the Gilroy park. Bonfante had cleared the handmade jump a couple times already but went down on the fourth attempt, according to a family friend.
After Bonfante flew over the handlebars he couldn’t move, said the friend, who requested that her name was kept out of the newspaper.
The high school senior is undergoing surgery at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
Daniel Atencio, who often joined Bonfante on BMX rides, said his friend was in good spirits when he visited at the hospital, despite his injuries.
“He talks as if nothing’s wrong with him,” Atencio said.
Atencio said Bonfante loved riding his dirt bike, often competed in street races and had talked about going pro. The teen, who is homeschooled, wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Atencio said seeing his active friend bedridden was difficult.
“I rode my bike the other day and it wasn’t the same so I just went home,” he said.
