A  Cambridge, MN man is lucky to be alive after a freak accident on ATV trails near Bruno, Minnesota this last weekend. Willie Charpenter was participating in an ATV charity that honored victims of 9/11 and those who served in the military. It began at the VFW in Bruno, Minnesota and went as planned. The VFW meets in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Bruno, across from the Bear's Den.

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Holly Brown details the events that happened that day on a GoFundMe Page for Willie. They were driving down the trail going about 15 miles per hour enjoying the muddy course when a tree branch came crashing down right on top of the side by side that Willie was in. His nephew Nate was driving the machine. Nate remembers the brush coming out of nowhere when he pushed it out of the way. He then heard his uncle scream out that he had been hit in the neck.

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It turns out that a stick about an 1.5" in diameter had puncture his neck. Willie was still conscious and able to talk. Everyone was able to come together quickly to get help and get to a service area to call 911. They were in an area with no cell phone coverage, so fortunately some people had GPS on their ATVs and were able to get in coverage fast. They got Willie to a road nearby and the ambulance responded very quickly. He was then taken by life flight to Duluth for emergency treatment.

He's lucky to have survived as the branch went 6-7" into his body, puncturing his neck, thyroid, and lung. It narrowly missed his main artery in his neck. Fox9 interviewed his nephew and Willie was saying goodbyes to everyone assuming he wouldn't make it while they were waiting for help. Now Willie Charpenter is in ICU recovering. The GoFundMe page has been set up to help him with medical expenses as he recovers and heals.

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