FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A man was rushed to the hospital after a forklift drove into the side of his car in Fort Lauderdale.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue responded to the scene along Northeast 11th Avenue and Harold Martin Drive, just before 11 a.m., Monday.
Officials said the driver of a Jeep Patriot was driving through a parking lot when the forklift operator came around a corner and struck the SUV and its driver.
“It went through the door, and the other fork went to the back side of the vehicle,” said Nobu Rivera, a witness. “The gentleman was hurt pretty bad.”
Witnesses said a construction worker was taking bags of sand off a tractor trailer, at the same time the Jeep was driving through the parking lot.
“The car was coming through the parking lot, and the forklift was coming around the bend and penetrated the side of the vehicle,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Chief Stephen Gollan.
7SkyForce HD flew above the scene where a dent and holes could be seen on the Jeep’s door.
“I’m not sure if he saw the vehicle or if the vehicle saw him, but in any case, the two forks penetrated the vehicle, and the gentleman was trapped inside,” said Rivera.
The driver of the Jeep could not move as one of the lift’s forks was inside of him.
“The workers from the field over here was telling him to be calm and to hang in there and hang on,” said Rivera, “but it was a shocking experience.”
The workers involved would not comment.
Witnesses encouraged the victim to remain still until help arrived.
“With the momentum of the car, the injury was lessened than what it possibly could have been,” said Gollan. “He was extremely fortunate. This could have been a lot worse than what it was,” said Gollan.
Rescue crews transported the man to Broward Health Medical Center with traumatic injuries.
The victim is recovering in stable condition.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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