Restaurants & Bars

Hoboken 'Cake Boss' Buddy Injures Hand in Bowling Accident

A spokesperson for the bakery owner and TV personality said a pinsetter impaled his dominant hand, requiring two surgeries and therapy.

Hoboken "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro is recovering after a scary bowling accident on Sunday.
Hoboken "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro is recovering after a scary bowling accident on Sunday. (Google Maps)

HOBOKEN, NJ — Buddy Valastro, the star of TV's "Cake Boss" reality show and owner of Carlo's Bakery chain (with flagship in Hoboken), said on Instagram on Wednesday that he had seriously injured his hand.

"I was involved in a terrible accident a few days ago," he posted, with a photo of himself in a hospital bed, arm in a cast. "What do you think of my new accessory?"

The story sounds even scarier than the post made it seem.

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Valastro's representative told People Magazine that on Sunday, he was spending time with his family at the bowling alley at his home. When the bowling pinsetter malfunctioned, he tried to release the pin from the cage mechanism, "a common fix," said the representative.

But his right hand became lodged and compressed, and he watched an inch and a half metal rod "slowly and repeatedly impale his hand three times between his ring finger and middle finger," according to the story.

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His sons, Buddy Jr., 16, and Marco, 13, used a reciprocating saw "to cut through the metal rod and relieve his father from the machine," the spokesperson said.

People reported that Valastro had two surgeries. The first was at Morristown Memorial in New Jersey. The second was by a renowned orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Michelle Carlson, who works at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Valastro was released Wednesday to recover at home.

The spokesperson said, "It will be an uphill battle as it's Buddy's dominant right hand, and he will need prolonged recovery and therapy."

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