Letterman Snowboarder Recovering

A champion snowboarder got stitches and a visit from David Letterman after she fell 25 feet off a ramp while performing a stunt for the comedian's late-night TV show.

Tara Dakides, nicknamed the Terrorizer, was expected to leave the hospital Friday, a day after falling from a ramp, manager Steve Astephen said.

"The only thing I am upset about is that the French judge only gave me a 5.6," Dakides said from her hospital bed, according to Astephen.

Witnesses said the 28-year-old snowboarder made two successful jumps on the U-shaped ramp, set up outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, and then fell off the ramp on her third attempt.

"She came down at an angle and she just went off the side of the ramp and landed on her back," said Dave Riddle, of Orlando, Fla., a tour bus driver for a punk band performing at a club across the street. "It was chaos. They just all ran to her, took her snowboard off."

Dakides, a snowboard competitor since 1993, was in New York to showcase her talents on the Letterman show and discuss the silver medal she just earned at the 2004 X Games in Aspen, Colo., Astephen said.

Dakides, who lives in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., has finished first in several X Games events, dominating slopestyle.

Letterman's executive producer, Rob Burnett, said he hoped Dakides makes a full recovery and returns to the show soon.

The CBS show regularly tapes stunts on the streets outside the studio.

Because of the accident, the "Late Show" stopped taping Thursday night's show and aired a repeat. Other scheduled guests were actress Drew Barrymore and pop band Fountains of Wayne.

By Lukas I. Alpert