INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- A man was flown to the hospital via Life Fight after an ATV accident Saturday afternoon.
According to a spokesperson with the City of Independence, crews were called to an area north of the Rock Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant just after 4:33 p.m.
Chuck Fleming, the ATV rider, told 41 Action News he was riding through a clearing there when his bike kicked up a tree limb that shattered his ankle. Fleming said he was catapulted forward, and the ATV landed on his upper left chest.
Fleming's girlfriend directed emergency crews to his location. The responding units had to walk or use four-wheel drive vehicles to get to him. A helicopter with the Kansas City Police Department was also called in to assist.
Just under an hour later, Fleming was flown to an area hospital in critical condition. He suffered a broken ankle and clavicle and three broken ribs. Still, he hopes to be back on his quad to ride with his friends in a couple of months.
"All of them guys and gals who ride on the weekends are the most solid guys you would ever want to meet," he typed from his hospital bed while awaiting surgery.
