In September of
2018, Gene attended the
Yankee Car Show in
Lahti,
Finland where he was chopping the top on a car live at the show. During the show he suffered a bad fall, breaking his hip. After surgery, he came down with pneumonia. Due to some pre-existing medical conditions, oxygen use, and the requirements of healing from the fall, Gene was not able to fly commercial after the accident, and he was stranded in
Finland. After the accident, a
GoFundMe campaign was launched in order to raise enough money to fly Gene safely back home. Created October 10,
2018, the goal of the campaign was $150,000 USD. October 12, two days later, $89,305 USD had already been donated by custom car fans and supporters. The same day the goal was reduced to $98,000 USD due to reduced transportation needs, and the goal was met later on the same day. October 28,
2018 Gene returned safely to the US after a month's stay in the US. The trip home went smoothly and without complications
