The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Fund set up to help with expenses
A part-time employee of the Crested Butte South Property Owners Association lost two fingers and part of his thumb in an accident at the community ice rink in Red Mountain Park last Friday night.
Crested Butte South resident Greg Wilson, who has been volunteering his time to help improve the park for several years, just started driving the POA’s Zamboni this winter. Crested Butte South POA manager Chris Behan said that while another employee was close by, Wilson was working alone to resurface the rink after being without the Zamboni for a week.
“He was the only one on the machine, so in terms of what specifically happened, we may never know,” says Behan. But at some point around 7 p.m. Wilson tried to dislodge ice that had built up in the machine and his hand was caught in its moving parts.
An employee working on the rink’s lights was at Wilson’s side almost immediately. The call went out to emergency medical services personnel for an amputation at the ice rink at 7:53 p.m. and the first responder was on the scene in five minutes. It was just five minutes more before an ambulance crew was preparing to rush Wilson toward Gunnison Valley Hospital for emergency surgery to his right hand.
“It was a very quick response,” Behan says.
Wilson is the owner of Black Jack Garage Doors and, with his wife, Sue, has two children, ages seven and 10, who are both active in the town’s hockey program.
He was released from the hospital on Monday, February 21.
Behan said the POA is working with Wilson to make sure he receives disability benefits while he’s out of work.
Behan has also set up an account called The Greg Wilson Zamboni Accident Fund at Bank of the West in Crested Butte for donations to help cover the family’s expenses while Wilson recovers. Food and meal donations can be dropped off at the CB South POA office at 61 Teocalli Rd. Contact Behan at 349-1162 with questions.
“If we were in his situation, we’d want all the help we could get… He’s been a great asset to the community and he’s helped with the park in a lot of ways,” Behan says. “It’s super sad for me that they’re not getting rich helping us out and at the same time, stuff like this can happen.”
