Seek guardian for ATV victim

A petition to establish a guardianship for Jerry Townsend, LaCrosse area resident who was injured Oct. 15 in an ATV accident, was filed Monday in Whitman County Superior court. The petition said Townsend, 59, has been in a coma in the ICU unit in Spokane since the accident.

Garfield attorney Stephen Bishop, who filed the petition, was named guardian ad litem for the Townsend estate. The petition asks the court to appoint Townsend’s daughter as guardian.

The petition provides for the court to review the status of the case in 12 months or earlier if and when Townsend recovers.

Townsend, who operates a hunting preserve near LaCrosse, was found unconscious next to a wrecked ATV by two of his clients. He was taken to Whitman Hospital and then air-lifted to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.