GRANBY — Tears abounded Thursday around a campfire set for Gary Costa, the man who died Wednesday evening in an ATV accident.
Granby Police said Costa died after becoming trapped beneath his ATV along a wooded trail beside his campsite at the Chicopee Sportsmen’s Club in Granby.
“It was a pretty sketchy section of trail he was on,” said Costa’s son, Charlie Sullivan, 30, who was not with him Wednesday, but rode with his father every weekend.
Costa was found in a rocky area of the trail.
Since Costa was riding alone Wednesday evening, Sullivan said “no one will ever know” what truly happened.
“He’s been riding these trails for years,” Sullivan said. “That’s how it happens — you get comfortable. And he’s 61 year’s old so he couldn’t get (the ATV) off him.”
Sullivan said when it came to riding, Costa was “Mr. Safety,” as he never rode without his helmet, glasses and gloves.
“He was the safest person I know,” said Sullivan. “I can’t believe it happened like that.”
Costa, of Ludlow, was pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after being taken by ambulance from the grounds of the Sportsmen’s Club. The accident occurred at the base of a network of trails near the club at 381 Batchelor St.
The accident remains under investigation, according to Granby Police Sgt. Gary Poehler. State Police and Environmental Police are involved in the investigation, Poehler said.
Sullivan’s friend Brian Liberty kept him company Thursday beside the fire that Sullivan said he’s sure would make his father unhappy. Costa was a stickler about saving firewood for cool nights, he said, and Thursday was certainly not that.
“But I had to do it,” Sullivan said, adding that it adds a sense of ceremony. “He’s not here to yell at us.”
Costa was a retired employee of the Springfield Wastewater Plant on Bondi’s Island Road. Sullivan said he worked there for about 25 years. He said he’s one of seven children Costa leaves behind.
As the night rounded the 24-hour mark since Costa’s death, more visitors showed at the site, some just shaking hands with Sullivan before leaving, teary-eyed, and others taking a spot by the fire.
“I’m the one who found him,” said Robert Sorbi, 58, of South Hadley, crying as he strolled up to Sullivan. “My condolences — it seemed like he loved riding.”
Sorbi said he frequently fishes in the pond along the trail and often saw Costa riding in the area where he found him “blue and cold” on Wednesday.
Sorbi said he was heading back down the trail from fishing when he spotted the overturned ATV with a helmet next to it. When he got to the other side, Sorbi said, he saw that Costa was trapped underneath with his right leg up near his face. His lips were blue and his head rested on a rock, Sorbi said. He felt for a pulse. Finding none, he called and looked for help, and found Mike Lamontagne, 65, of South Hadley farther down the trail.
Police said they received the call at 7:11 p.m. Wednesday, and when they arrived, Lamontagne was still administering CPR.
After a short visit at the ceremonial campfire, Sorbi readied to leave and shook hands with Lamontagne.
“I know your name after last night, Bob,” Lamontagne said to Sorbi.
Sullivan said because of the mild winter, his dad had already been riding for months this season. He was shooting to break his record this year of 104 days spent at his Sportsmen’s Club campsite.
Though he has a “big, beautiful house” in Ludlow, Sullivan said, this was where Costa liked to be.
“This was his place,” he said. “I’m going to keep coming every weekend like he’d want.”
Sullivan looked pensively at Costa’s dog, Molly, curled up in a bed of pine needles. The 4-year-old is jet black with bright, blue eyes.
“I don’t know if she knows what happened, yet,” he said, adding that she will go live with his brother, who helped train her, in Florida.
Costa’s campsite neighbor, Shelly Fox, 38, of Chicopee, agreed that this campsite was Costa’s heart and soul.
“He was one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met,” said Fox, choking back tears. “I’m just still so shocked — I’m sorry.”
Fox said life for Costa was simple and it was all he asked for.
“He loved riding,” she said cracking a Busch beer as gunshots echoed overhead from the neighboring gun range. “He loved beer. He loved being here.”
Though Costa enjoyed his beer — Rolling Rock was often his choice — Fox said he’d had only two before his last ride and wasn’t drunk.
Sullivan said his dad always said if he ever got too old to ride or camp, that he should “unplug him, put him on his boat, give him a 12-pack, and let him go.” He said he takes comfort in knowing his dad died doing what he loved.
“He lived for the outdoors and he died in the outdoors,” he said.
“This is Gary,” said Liberty, 29, holding his arms out wide to frame the campsite and surrounding woods. “Literally.”
“It’s the way he wanted to go,” Sullivan said. “He loved it out here.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.