A do-it-yourself project turned into a bad day at work for a Davison County jailer Monday.
When a garage door opener at the jail malfunctioned around 3 p.m., the jailer thought he could fix it before maintenance staff arrived. While he was working on the opener, the pressure in the chain gave way and caught his hand in a gear.
"It cut about a quarter-inch off his finger," said Don Radel, jail administrator, during the Davison County Commission meeting Tuesday morning at the courthouse in Mitchell. Radel declined to identify the jailer.
In a short interview after the meeting, Radel said the jailer, who is in his 20s, was taken to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell, where doctors cleaned the wound and stitched it up. He was placed under anesthesia for the surgery, Radel said. He left the hospital by 8 p.m.
The jailer happens to be scheduled off work for a few days and is scheduled to be back Friday, Radel said.
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Radel said he informed the commissioners of the injury Tuesday as an informational item. They would have been informed otherwise through paperwork the jail would have to fill out regarding the accident.
