Coloradan Who Cut Off Toes 'Had No Other Choice'

MONTROSE, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado man who had to make the drastic decision to cut off his toes after a 6 ton trailer pinned his foot says he didn't think he had any other choice.

Jon Hutt, 61, was alone in a remote forest on the Western Slope on Aug. 19 doing some wood cutting when the accident happened. The trailer attached to his truck suddenly slipped and landed on his right foot.

"It came down and caught me and crushed that foot," Hutt told CBS4 partner KREX-TV.

Hutt called out for help loudly, hoping there might be someone in a home that was only about 300 yards away.

"That didn't work," he said.

He also was unable to reach his cell phone, which was in his truck. Even if he had, he says the phone wouldn't have been able to get any service because of the remote location where he was.

Hutt's wife wasn't expecting him to be home for another 10 hours, so 30 minutes after getting trapped Hutt decided to free himself.

His pocket knife ended up being his key to survival.

"I thought 'Well, I'd better cut this off before I go into shock or drop this pocket knife,'" he said.

He ended up using the 3 inch knife to first cut through his boot and get it off to assess the injury. After seeing how things stood he cut off all five of his toes on the right foot.

Once he was free, he wrapped a shirt around his foot and then drove towards his home in Montrose. When he was within cell phone range again he called for help and an ambulance met up with him.

At the hospital doctors couldn't reattach Hutt's toes, but he says he will be just fine.

"If you've got to lose something it might as well be your toes," he said. "They are probably as expendable as anything else."

Hutt is using currently using crutches to walk, but he hopes to walk on his own soon.

The story has similarities to that of another Coloradan -- Aron Ralston of Boulder. In May 2003 Ralston amputated his own arm to free himself after being trapped by a boulder in remote Blue John Canyon in Utah's Canyonlands National Park.

When Ralston was found after the deed was done he was taken first to a hospital in Utah then transferred to St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction. A 2010 movie about Ralston's experience in Utah -- "127 Hours" -- was directed by Danny Boyle and received several Academy Award nominations.