MIAMI (WSVN) - A worker continues to face a long road to recovery after his bucket truck overturned on a South Florida expressway in early October, and his attorneys said his heroic actions saved lives.
Two weeks after a bucket truck overturned on State Road 826, near Northwest 37th Avenue, on Oct. 11, 7News was given a glimpse at the crane operator who was inside the truck.
Thirty-seven-year-old Eric Ballesteros is lucky to be alive and has been recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital since the highway horror.
“He fell 30 feet down to the hard concrete floor,” said Attorney Judd Rosen.
Rosen and fellow attorney Tyson Kutner called their client a hero. They said he made a life-saving decision as the truck started to tip over.
“He was grabbing the controls of the hoist when the boom malfunctioned, and he turned the boom so that — if you see the arm of the boom landed on the highway and prevented the boom truck from falling down from the highway, landing on cars, potentially killing people,” said Rosen.
7Skyforce HD was overhead moments after the accident, as traffic was backed up.
Ballesteros was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
X-rays showed the screws and rods used to repair some of his broken bones. “In his left leg, his heel was completely shattered,” said Rosen.
He had a compound fracture in his right leg where the bone was sticking out. Both of his wrists were broken.
“It’s going to be multiple, multiple years before he’s actually back to normal,” said Kutner.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration continues to investigate this matter, and while the father of two prepares to go to an assisted living facility, his attorneys have one big question. “What went wrong with this crane, with his hoist? I mean, he had it positioned perfectly the way it was supposed to,” said Rosen.
Despite his injuries, Kutner and Rosen said Ballesteros remains in good spirits.
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