FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — A worker whose leg became trapped inside a backhoe in Davie, Friday morning, has been freed from the contraption.
According to Davie Fire Rescue, the worker was operating a front loader in front of an unoccupied home when he was ejected from the cab and pinned between the bucket and the frame of the machine itself, at around 11:30 a.m.
Fire rescue had to stabilize the ground, since the backhoe was near a body of water, before lifting the machine high enough to free the man from between the bucket and the frame of the front loader itself, nearly an hour after he became trapped.
"It’s a very tricky situation. It was on an embankment, in soft sand, into water, so we had multiple issues that we had to overcome, not just the entrapment," said Davie Fire Rescue Capt. Miguel Ferrer.
There was a fear that paramedics may have had to amputate one or both of his legs to free him. However, this was not the case. "We have trained for this, so the possibilities of [an amputation] happening are great," said Ferrer. "Then this would have been one of those situations had we not been successful with our rescue approach."
Ferrer said, during a situation like this, every second counts. "We’re just talking to him, and he needs to work with us," he said. "Unfortunately, as bad as it is, we’ve just got to make it happen. We don’t have time to not make actions. We have stuff that we need to get done and just keep him calm as much as possible."
Once freed, the injured man was carried to an ambulance, then rushed to a waiting helicopter and transported to Broward Health Medical Center in critical condition. He underwent surgery and is expected to recover.
Officials said the homeowner was doing some renovation around his property. Police said the worker was a friend of the homeowner who was helping him out with some projects.
Investigators are trying to determine what caused the accident. The extent of the worker’s leg injuries remains unknown.