GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — A former professional hockey player from Grand Rapids, Scot Kleinendorst, 59, was badly injured and fighting for his life following a heavy machinery accident at the town’s paper mill, UPM Blandin, over the weekend.
“Although it is still under investigation, there was an accident while Scot was operating a piece of heavy machinery at UPM,” the family wrote on a CaringBridge page. “He suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including very serious trauma to the brain. Scot was airlifted to Duluth and eventually stabilized after many blood transfusions. After he was stabilized, he went into emergency surgery to relieve the life-threatening hemorrhage on the left side of his brain.”
The family said Kleinendorst “pulled through” the surgery on his brain. He also suffered many broken bones in the accident.
The incident occurred Saturday evening, the company said in a statement, reiterating that Kleinendorst was stabilized and flown to a Duluth trauma center by helicopter.
https://www.twincities.com/2019/12/09/former-nhl-player-seriously-injured-on-job-at-grand-rapids-paper-mill/
