Friends Rally To Raise Funds For Man Injured In ATV Accident

WILMINGTON, MA -- Friends of 21-year-old Kevin Burke and his family have set up a GoFundMe page that has already surpassed its goal of raising $20,000 to aid in his recovery. Burke, of WIlmington, was seriously injured in an ATV accident on Saturday.

While rescue workers had hoped to airlift Burke to Mass General Hospital in Boston, but the winds were too strong. Burke's family is crediting Wilmington Police, Fire and EMS workers with stabilizing Burke to transport him to Boston by ambulance.

Burke sustained severe head trauma, broken bones and a collapsed lung. At Mass General, he underwent emergency surgery to remove a portion of his skull to relieve the pressure from the brain swelling. Burke remains hospitalized by is resting comfortably at Mass General.

As you can imagine, the road to recovery is going to be a long, challenging one and will require both Karen and Mike [Burke's parents] to be involved in his day-to-day care," his family wrote on the GoFundMe page. Mike Burke recently underwent cancer treatment, which has stretched the family's savings, according to the fundraising page.

For more on Burke's story and to donate to the family, see the GoFundMe page. Subscribe to Wilmington Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Photo by the Burke family.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).