PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man is on the road to recovery four months after being crushed by a bulldozer in a workplace accident, but he says he needs a little help to get his life back on track.
Kyle Trussell, 32, a Port Angeles surveyor and former soccer standout at Port Angeles High School and Peninsula College, is learning how to walk again using a walker and has hopes of moving on to a relatively normal life, he said Sunday.
His pelvis and legs were crushed when he was run over by an 18-ton Caterpillar D6 bulldozer Sept. 28 as he worked on the landfill bluff stabilization project near the Port Angeles Regional Transfer Station at 3501 W. 18th St.
The state Department of Labor and Industries opened an investigation into the incident. Results of that investigation are not yet available.
Regularly paid
Trussell continues to receive a regular paycheck from his employer, Northwest Territories Inc.
But after four months of extra expenses, he and his girlfriend have struggled to keep up with their bills, including rent, utilities and other expenses that go along with recovery from a major accident, he said.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the couple at www.gofundme.com/urjwfqx8 to help Trussell and his girlfriend, Opal Anderson, pay bills and install grab bars in their home to help with his mobility.
“We’re just trying to catch up,” Trussell said.
A previous GoFundMe account raised about $13,000, which assisted Trussell’s mother and sister with expenses relating to travel and lodging expenses while he was at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Clear memory
Trussell said he remembers the events of that day clearly.
He said he was called to the hill where the bulldozers were defining a new slope at the relocated landfill site for a “point set” and, wearing an orange safety vest, was concentrating on his equipment.
The $14.4 million project removed landfill materials near the bluffs, which were in danger of falling into the Strait of Juan de Fuca; moved the material inland; and reconstructed the bluffs to create a more natural erosion process that feeds the beaches below.
“I heard the dozer coming. He was pushing dirt. I didn’t think he would hit me,” Trussell said.
However, the left side did hit him.
“He bumped me with the blade. I grabbed the top of the blade with one hand and tried to protect my equipment with the other,” he said.
Trussell said the bottom of the blade “grabbed my foot” and began to slowly drag him underneath.
“I just got ripped up directly under the middle of it,” he said.
Another bulldozer operator, who had dismounted from his tractor to work with Trussell and had not yet returned to his equipment, saw what was happening and flagged down the driver, Trussell said.
Trussell was taken to Harborview, where he was in critical condition on life support until Oct. 9.
He remained at Harborview an additional four weeks for surgeries and recovery.
His left ankle had an open fracture, his right femur was snapped, he suffered broken tibias and fibulas, five lumbar vertebrae were broken and his pelvis was crushed, Trussell said.
“The doctors told me most people don’t survive [a crushed pelvis],” he said.
Doctors at Harborview inserted pins into the broken bones, added grafts to help close up ripped-open flesh and used a stabilizing brace to protect the pelvic bones while they healed.
Ahead of schedule
“The good news is that I am way ahead of schedule,” he said.
Throughout his recovery, Anderson has been by his side supporting him in his lowest moments, Trussell said.
Trussell said Anderson has accompanied him to most of his medical appointments and often takes time off work for trips to see specialists in Seattle.
Harborview doctors released him to Crestwood Convalescent Center in Port Angeles, where he has learned to walk again, and Trussell said he believes he will be released to go home sometime in the next week.
“I can walk with a walker, and I’m getting close to walking with a cane,” he said.
He said he plans to eventually play soccer again, despite warnings from his doctors that his injuries might increase his chances of a future knee injury.
However, there are still soft-tissue injuries that have been slow to heal, he said, and a stubborn infection that will require additional surgeries, the first of which is scheduled for March 4.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
