Author Stephen Covey injured in bicycle accident

[April 21, 2012]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Motivational speaker and author Stephen R. Covey is recovering Friday in a Provo, Utah, hospital after being knocked unconscious the previous night in a bicycle accident.

The 79-year-old Covey was in stable condition and responding to family members, said his publicist Debra Lund. While there was no timetable for his release, Lund said doctors had not found any sign of long-term damage to his head.

"He just lost control on his bike and crashed," Lund said. "He was wearing a helmet, which is good news."

The accident happened on a steep road in the foothills of Provo, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City. No one else was involved, Provo police Sgt. Mathew Siufanua said, although an assistant for Covey who was riding with him witnessed the crash.

"He just took a corner too fast," Siufanua said. "He hit his head and had a pretty good goose egg."

When officers arrived, they found Covey unconscious and sent him to the hospital. There was some bleeding but no signs of other head trauma.

Catherine Sagers, Covey's daughter, told The Salt Lake Tribune that her father was being monitored in an intensive care unit because of some bleeding on the frontal lobe of his brain. While subsequent head scans have not shown any increased swelling or bleeding, Sagers said, the family is "praying a lot he's OK" and that it is still scary.

"They're just waiting to see if the brain is going to swell and bleed out more," Sager said. "If it (bleeds) out more, they'll probably have to go in and drain it."

Covey is the author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" as well as three other books that have all sold more than a million copies. He is the co-founder of Utah-based professional services company Franklin-Covey.

[Associated Press; By JOSH LOFTIN]

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