GoFundMe pages set up for 3 victims of Jefferson County helicopter crash
GoFundMe pages have been set up for three Manhattan men involved in a helicopter crash Sunday in Jefferson County.
The pages for Mark Taylor, his son Morgan and Morgan's friend, Avery Bates were created by Kaycie Braaksma, who said she is Mark Taylor's niece.
"Mark suffered fractured vertebrae in his back and remains in the hospital," Braaksma wrote on the GoFundMe site. "Avery has a compound fracture and will wear a back brace for 12 weeks. Morgan faced the worst, has a broken pelvis, broken sacrum, fractured (vertebrae)."
She said he went through an 11-hour surgery and remains in the hospital for an undetermined period of time. Braaksma said he "recently started his own excavation business and due to the injuries, he will be out of work for an unknown length of time."
She said Bates has his own trucking business and will be out of work due to his injuries. A separate page was set up for him.
"I am in hopes that we can ease some stress from this accident and help him and his wife, Peytynne out with medical bills and the stress of being out of work," Braaksma said. "We are so very thankful they are all 3 alive!"
As of Thursday morning, the page for Mark and Morgan had raised $10,450 toward the $100,000 goal. To donate, go to:
The page for Bates had raised $2,200 toward its $50,000 goal. To donate, go to:
The Federal Aviation Administration said the helicopter, an R44 Robinson, crashed under unknown circumstances. A search of FAA records show the helicopter is owned by Raven II LLC in Belgrade, of which Mark Taylor is a registered agent.
The helicopter crashed about 4:20 p.m. by Basin Creek in a remote area in the mountains near Boulder in the vicinity of a cabin the family owned by the creek near Three Brothers mountain in northwestern Jefferson County and was having trouble gaining altitude and was battling gusty winds.
Several law enforcement and other emergency agencies from Jefferson County responded and the three crash victims were flown out of the crash site.
Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.
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