It’s not everyday one watches a committee meeting and hears a story about a city employee almost getting killed, but that’s what happened when I tuned into the 06/06/2022 Parks and Recreation Committee meeting and heard Director of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities Dean Gazza recount a harrowing situation experienced by one of the city’s seasonal grounds keepers.
Austin was using a surfing mower (the kind you ride while standing on the back) to cut the grass in between the curb and the sidewalk on Mead Street. He started to step off his mower, and as he did that a car jumped the curb, nailed his mower, and then went back onto the street whereupon it took off, leaving the scene.
The car came within a foot of pinning him against the mower which would have either really damaged his legs or killed him. It sounded like it was just because he happened to step off the mower at that moment that he avoided injury or worse.
He was thrown to the ground very hard, but, thankfully, the car didn’t actually touch him. Ultimately, he experienced less of a physical injury and more just shock about how close he came to dying.
A police officer came out and took a report. Greg Hoekstra, the Grounds Manager, was also there. As the cop was getting ready to leave, a girl rode up on a bike, inquired if the person on the mower was all right, and started nervously asking some questions. This prompted Mr. Hoekstra to ask her if she knew anything about what happened, and he told her that the driver of the vehicle would be caught because there were traffic cameras that were being analyzed at that very moment. The girl then admitted that her mom was the driver.
Director Gazza said he had requested the police report but had not yet received a copy, so he didn’t know at that point what had caused the woman to jump the curb, whether it was intoxication, looking at a phone, or something else.
Needless to say, the entire committee [along with I would expect every single person watching] was very relieved that the employee was okay and that the driver had been identified.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=978107&GUID=69EB25F7-88A5-4E96-90D7-044683247FE0
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