Man Who Helps the Town Now Needs Hand Himself

A fund-raising campaign is underway to assist Dell Cullum, an East Hampton wildlife removal specialist, anti-litter activist, and nature photographer who was injured on Friday while trapping raccoons at a house on Napeague.

Mr. Cullum was on a ladder on the house’s second story. “It was raining,” said his wife, Dee Cullum. “When he was coming down the ladder the bottom flew out, and he came down with the ladder onto the second-story deck.” He fell 10 or 12 feet, she said, and fractured the first lumbar vertebra, which bears the weight of the upper body.

Mr. Cullum was transported by medevac helicopter to Stony Brook University Hospital and underwent surgery on Saturday.

“All he was worried about was the Shoreline Sweep,” said a friend, Lori Schultz, referring to the annual beach cleanup that Mr. Cullum organized on Saturday. “We all chipped in and gave back to somebody that gives so much to our town.” (Mr. Cullum has also been a contributing photographer to this paper.)

From his hospital bed at Stony Brook on Friday evening, Mr. Cullum recorded a video of himself imploring participants in the Saturday cleanup to go forward with their efforts, and they did.

“He’s got 11 pins and two rods in him now,” his wife said, but “he is making progress,” and has already walked a few steps. “He’s very strong,” she said. “Every day he gets a little better.” He may be released by the end of this week, she said. A course of physical therapy will follow.

Because he will be unable to work for some time, a friend, Mushie Anderson, has started a fund-raising campaign at gofundme.com/dell-cullum. As of yesterday morning, $11,645 had been raised toward a goal of $15,000.