I was using a backhoe/loader to move some cold mix asphalt
in the temporary yard for a project. We needed more room, so I was moving it to
one side of the yard.
You’ve seen backhoe/loaders. They resemble scorpions, with a
front bucket as the pincers; the excavator attachment on the rear can be
described as the stinger.
After running such a machine for a long period of time,
using the controls is without thought. You just know what you want to do and it
happens. I was busy, lost in thought and moving material.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement. At that time, I
had full bucket, was moving forward and in the process of dumping the bucket.
Within seconds, one of the hands climbed on the moving machine to tell me
something.
All I heard was a scream; a yowling scream that ended in a high pitch of fear and agony.
Although it probably only lasted for a second or two, it
seemed to take forever for me to analyze what happened, look down at his foot and
raise the bucket.
As he climbed on the machine, he placed one foot on the step
and the other in a pinch point between two control arms. The ton of material,
plus the weight of the assembly concentrated on the one object impeding the
progress.
As soon as the bucket was raised, he fell from the machine,
started rolling on the ground and cried as he held his leg. I stopped, jumped
from the machine, and went to help.
I had to get his boot off his foot. If I left it on, his
foot would swell, cut off circulation, and the damage would only be greater. We
soon had the boot and sock removed; my stomach turned.
Have you ever seen a crushed foot? I never had and never
want to again. It was disfigured, blue and it was obvious this was way beyond
something I could handle. All I could do was talk to him and tell him help
would be there shortly.
Someone in the field office called the ambulance. They
arrived shortly, made a quick assessment and then were gone.
That happened in 1984. I still think about it now and then.
The thoughts always lead to what I could have done differently and the guilt
remains.
I don’t know what happened to him; I don’t even remember his
name, but I remember that day. I had a few beers that evening. Too many and
they didn’t help.
least you hadn't had the beers before the accident.
ReplyDeleteSucks to have it happen, but you look blameless to me.
I couldn't ever find anything I did wrong, but it doesn't matter. Crippling someone is devastating.
DeleteI agree with Ed. He should have know better than to climb on any working/moving machine. An arm wave and a shout would have been sufficient. But that doesn't help the memory of what the foot looked like. I got my hand crushed in a blow-mold injection machine many years ago. Machine malfunction, not my fault, but I can still here the bones snapping like a bag of pretzels to this day. Surgery and healing ending up with about 90% mobility. Given the possibilities, I can live with the results.
ReplyDeleteI was maintenance on blow molding presses. Ouch.
DeleteMy brother-in-law owns a huge crane company and the very, exact, thing happened to him. The young man whose foot got mangled was taken to the ER where it was discovered he had cancer from his foot all the way up to his brain stem. Talk about going from bad to worse. I knew him. They knew him. And his suffering was astronomical.
ReplyDeleteI can still see his face and hear his scream.
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