He made it out with just a few scrapes on his leg. He didn't get going or anything, just stomped on it and then fell straight down. Nobody was behind him at the light so he didn't get ran over. We're in Portland, so necessarily there were other bicyclists. One wondered how it even happened, and another guy asked if he was 'roiding out.

I took the bike myself up here the other day (grade!), and that was definite torque. The next day he said the bike started creaking, likely indicating a growing crack. The sprint start was just the last straw.