It was mostly business as usual at the Utah Attorney General's Office Monday, with the notable exception that the department's leader was not present.

Mark Shurtleff continued to recover at University Hospital from a serious motorcycle accident Saturday in Utah County. But Shurtleff said he's not concerned about his office falling apart in his absence.

"It functions well. There's good people in the office. I'm happy the office can work well without me," he relayed to the Deseret Morning News through his spokesman, Paul Murphy.

Shurtleff could be away from his office for a while.

The attorney general was riding a Harley-Davidson Saturday afternoon near Lindon when he was making a turn and lost control of the motorcycle after it either hit gravel or slid on the partially wet road. The heavy bike landed on top of his leg.

Murphy said Shurtleff suffered at least seven fractures in his left leg, and his foot suffered a complete rotation break, meaning it rotated backward. Shurtleff also suffered bruised ribs, a torn rotator cuff, a cut on his head from his helmet and severely swollen hands from road rash.

Shurtleff had surgery to put three rods in his leg and two in his heel. When the swelling goes down, he is scheduled to have a second surgery to remove the rods and replace them with steel plates and screws. That surgery may be one to three weeks away, Murphy said. The attorney general may be transferred to a different rehabilitation hospital soon to continue his recovery, he said.

Despite all of that, Murphy said Shurtleff remained in good spirits, and the workaholic AG is still checking in when he can.

"He's already trying to figure out what work he can do in the condition he's in," Murphy said. "It's hard to slow him down."

Until Shurtleff can return, Murphy said others in the office will help fill in the holes. Monday morning, Shurtleff's staff went over his schedule with his secretary to see who could fill in for his speaking engagements and other meetings.

The AG's two chief deputies, Kirk Torgensen and Ray Hintze, will help fill most of those holes.

"We really don't miss too much of a beat," Torgensen said. "The chain of command is pretty well-structured."

Torgensen said Shurtleff is staying involved and will be consulted if any big decisions need to be made. Those who were scheduled to meet with Shurtleff were contacted and given the option of meeting with the chief deputies or waiting until the attorney general was out of the hospital.

---

E-mail: preavy@desnews.com