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Retired Charlotte Fire captain hurt on Kansas hunting trip lands in the Queen City

Tripp Fincher was flown in on Thursday, nearly two weeks after the accident.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A retired fire captain is back in Charlotte for treatment 12 days after a hunting accident left him seriously hurt more than 1,000 miles away from home.

The medical plane carrying Tripp Fincher landed back in the Queen City on Thursday so he could continue treatment at home. The Charlotte Fire Department shared a video of Fincher on a gurney, giving a thumbs-up to the camera before being loaded onto an ambulance and taken to a hospital.

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Fincher was seriously hurt when a tree stand broke on his trip in Levery, Kansas. The department said the retired captain fell more than 20 feet, breaking his pelvis, sternum, and ribs. He also suffered a collapsed lung.

Fincher was treated at a trauma unit in Kansas, but needed to be flown back to Charlotte to continue his recovery. Charlotte Fire started a GoFundMe to cover the cost of that flight along with other medical expenses and also held a donation rally on Sept. 10.

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As of writing, more than $60,000 in donations have poured in for Fincher via GoFundMe. Charlotte Fire hopes to raise an additional $15,000 to meet its goal and the fundraiser remains active.

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