Denver victim hurt in Washington Park shooting says he lost memory for three days
A bystander who was seriously wounded when he was struck by a bullet in Denver's popular Washington Park has opened up about his experience.
According to the Denver Police Department, on Feb. 2 two people were in an argument over a park bench when one pulled out a gun and fired. The bullet may have hit a bicycle on which the person who was involved in the argument over the park bench with the suspect tried to leave.
Ben Varga had just been dropped off at the park. The weather was warm and the park was busy. He was to meet friends for a picnic.
"I was going over to see what the sort of commotion was and then another bystander told me, oh I think his tire popped."
Things looked OK and Varga does not recall seeing the alleged shooter.
"I started walking to find a spot to lay down for a picnic and then that's when all the memory just kind of goes blank," he said.
Varga suffered a gunshot wound to the back of the neck.
The suspected shooter took off. Police say they arrested Ryan Egelston, who had left in a vehicle soon after. He is facing charges of attempted first-degree murder.
Dr. Lakshmi Karra, who was with her 10-month-old at the time, rushed to save him.
"It was a surreal experience," she said of the incident. "The fact that he was breathing on his own was miraculous in and of itself."
Karra used Varga's picnic blanket to apply pressure to the wound until first responders arrived. Varga said he's grateful to get the chance to thank her, and will never be able to repay her for saving his life.
"I don't have any memories from that point until around three days after, from waking up in the ICU," said Varga. "All the hospital machines are beeping and all the doctors standing around me I kind of realized the severity of the incident and I was able to kind of pull myself together a little bit and start just listening to the doctor's orders and you squeezing the hand for yes and doing certain things that they needed help from me to do and so waking up was definitely difficult and kind of becoming conscious. But as soon as then it was kind of game on, let's heal up and let's do what we can to keep moving forward."
Varga's friends noticed the crime scene, and that he was missing, and reached out to his parents.
"I don't wish that upon anyone," he shared. "I can't imagine what that must have been like for all of them."
The bullet struck Varga in the back of the neck and exited through his jaw, breaking it into several pieces and knocking out some of his teeth. Although the bullet fractured two of his vertebrae, Varga said he's thankful that it didn't cause damage to his nerves or brain.
Surgeons have been working to clean out the area and next week he is scheduled to undergo jaw reconstruction surgery.
"They've partnered with an outside company to 3D model my jaw, as well as all the broken parts, and whatever new parts they're ordering to be able to use a plate to drill all of those together," he said.
He said his experience is a testament to overcoming hardship and credits his family for their steadfast support.
"You never think you're going have to use the words 'my son was shot,'" said Varga's mother Cindy. "I think I haven't dealt with it yet."
His mother and father have been his rock, he said, and his brother and sister have been his emotional support throughout his ordeal. Ben is one of a set of triplets with brother Dan and sister Grace. In a strange coincidence, Grace, who started recently as a nurse in the neo-natal unit at Denver Health, will be working with Dr. Karra.
Varga and his family remain concerned about potential issues with the mental health of suspect Ryan Egleston.
"I definitely don't hold any sort of hatred or anger towards this individual. I definitely just hope to move forward from this and I hope that this person gets the help that they need. And I hope that they are kept safe from themselves and others."
Varga does not believe he was targeted.
"It's hard to make sense of something that is senseless."
He and his family expressed concern about gun violence.
"It just was very clear that this was someone that probably should not have had access to the firearm that he had."
Ben Varga says he hopes that the incident becomes a bump and does not define him.
"Hopefully it's just a cool story I can tell my friends at the bar in the future hopefully, can still talk and still write, do everything I need to do so that's what I'm hoping it is." He is thankful for the care and the support he has gotten.
"I guess the main takeaway is just that really beautiful things can come out of tragedy. But we really have to pick each other up after it. Hopefully there's some people smarter than me who can do some reflection on what he causes and root causes of what the exact scenario might have been."
