Steve Howe Reported Stable After Motorcycle Accident

HELENA, Mont. — Former major league pitcher Steve Howe, injured in a motorcycle crash this week near his Montana home, was hospitalized in stable condition Friday.

“He was in [the intensive care unit]. It was critical,” said Sherrie Higgins, Kalispell Regional Hospital spokeswoman. “I don’t know how he made it.”

In a statement, Howe’s family said he lost control of his motorcycle Tuesday night when he hit some gravel on a paved road, slid and hit a wire fence.

“By the grace of God, he was able to get back on his motorcycle and make it [to the house of a friend] who immediately took him to the emergency room,” the statement said. “Drugs or alcohol were not involved at all.”

Higgins said Howe was moved out of intensive care Thursday night. The family did not want the extent of his injuries revealed.

Kalispell police learned of the crash Friday afternoon when word leaked that Howe was hospitalized.

Police Sgt. Greg Burns said determining what happened will be difficult because the crash wasn’t reported when it happened.

Howe, 39, who had been pitching for the Sioux Falls Canaries of the independent Northern League, lives near Whitefish, Mont.

Howe’s major league career was interrupted seven times by drug or alcohol-related suspensions.