As immoral as it sounds, a reason why we watch dangerous things is because of the possibility that someone may get hurt. Although, that does not mean we take joy in bringing you news of such tragedy like how last year we had to for Birdman from ‘Street Outlaws.‘
What happened to Birdman? Did he have an accident?
Yes, indeed, James ‘Birdman’ Finney was in quite the severe accident last summer. We first got the word from his friend, Mike Murillo. He is a part of Birdman’s Texas-based racing crew, on July 18, 2020.
He took to Facebook to inform us that Birdman was in a severe crash and needed to be rushed to the hospital. Mike was very brief on his initial post, only sharing, “He is alert but (has) lots of injuries.”
He said he would follow us up on the details later. K2 Radio later reported Birdman’s car crash on a highway, West of Casper, Wyoming. They updated us that Birdman was rushed to Wyoming Medical Center.
Shortly after, a second crash also occurred that very night, this time involving driver, Stan Allen. But Allen was able to walk away from the horrible-looking crash with only minor injuries.
Murillo was the first to spread the word this time as well through Facebook, where he wrote at the end, “Prayers for both my friends” along with a # “this shit is bananas.”
Birdman himself decided to update his fans about his condition by posting about it on Facebook.
What Did Birdman Say?
“I ain’t gonna lie … that shit hurt!” he wrote and then listen to all his injuries, “Broken hand, labral tear in shoulder, small tear in aorta, collapsed lung, torn cartilage in rib cage.”
“I’ve fought some big mfers in my life but I ain’t ever had an a– whippin’ like this,” Birdman continued. “Tighter seat belts and I probably would have walked away with just a broken hand … torn seat belt.”
He followed up with a second post of the picture of the crash, which made his fans understand how he was badly injured and lucky to just be alive. He informed everyone that the car was beyond repair.
The Street Outlaws star did not seem to want to ask his fans for a handout for helping him handle his medical and other expenses, which must have been high even though many were offering to help. So, he told them, “Thanks for all the offers to set up a GoFundMe account but, no, we ain’t doing that. If y’all wanna help, buy some apparel!!!”
What Did Murillo Say?
Later, Murillo also posted on Facebook how scared the experience was for him to witness.
“My hero, our Team Texas leader and best friend James Birdman Finney could have lost his life last night and we are so thankful to our Heavenly Father above that he didn’t need Jaime just yet,” said Mike. “This wreck brought me to my knees on the starting line with fear of the worst.”
According to Mike, Birdman was conscious even after the crash and even asked him if he won the race. But he was having difficulty breathing, which had the paramedics worried about his heart. But he was declared to be in a stable condition by the hospital in a short time.
What’s more, he was beaten and bruised, but he was well enough to be discharged from the hospital within a day.
Final Words.
He was back to racing as soon as he healed up enough to get behind the wheel. Thankfully, Birdbox managed to film a few episodes for Street Outlaws in the fall of 2020. Therefore, we did not miss out on much of him in 2021 as well. He has said himself that he has “a LOT of racing in 2021.”
We wish that he will attain his goal, but he remains a little safer next time.