Buek seemed to be fearless and paid a heavy price for it. He suffered two broken backs, one from a motorcycle accident in 1953 which crushed his leg, pelvis, and shoulder. At the national championships at Aspen the following winter, he could still only bend his right knee sixty degrees. Pins in his left shoulder hampered his stance. Though he won the race, he was not selected to compete at the 1954 World Championships in Sweden.