Jan. 25--ROCHESTER -- One first responder said it was "miraculous" that an employee at Dave's Tri-City Towing on Wakefield Street was not seriously injured after being pinned under a vehicle that fell off a hydraulic lift Monday.
Police Capt. Paul Callaghan said the police supervisor's command vehicle, a Ford Expedition SUV, was being serviced at Tri-City when it fell off the hydraulic lift and landed on top of a middle-aged male employee, whose name was not released Monday.
Rochester Police, Fire and Frisbie Memorial Hospital EMS responded to the garage just after noon, Callaghan said.
According to Frisbie Assistant Director of EMS Gary Brock, the employee was not pinned under the vehicle when EMS arrived, because others at the scene, including Rochester firefighters, were able to lift the vehicle up and free the employee.
Assistant Fire Chief Richard Giguere said the back of the vehicle had fallen off the lift while the front was still on it. He said Rochester Fire and fellow employees utilized large rubber airbags to stabilize the rear of the SUV.
"He was removed gently from under the vehicle after it was stabilized," Giguere said. The Fire Department regularly uses those bags to raise objects that need to be stabilized.
Brock could not say what part of the employee's body had been pinned, but said it was his understanding that the man was "completely under the vehicle" after the incident. He said the man's injuries were non life-threatening and expected him to be released from Frisbie, possibly Monday.
"He's a very lucky man," Brock said. "This is a man of robust size, and he would have had quite a time under that vehicle if he'd been there for a while."
Original rescue plans called for a medical helicopter to land in the nearby parking lot of Ben Franklin Crafts and transport the man to a nearby hospital; however, Brock said a Frisbie physician was brought to the scene and determined the man's injuries were not serious enough to warrant transport via helicopter.
He was instead transported to Frisbie, Brock said.
"The fact this man was not more seriously injured boarders on miraculous," Brock said.
Callaghan said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) would be investigating the incident further. He did not anticipate police would participate further in the investigation.
"It's unclear why the lift failed," Brock said.
Callaghan was unsure if the vehicle sustained any kind of damage after it fell off the lift, and said it was still at Tri-City later Monday afternoon. He said Tri-City has a contract with the Police Department for vehicle service, and the command vehicle was in for routine maintenance Monday.
An employee at Tri-City declined to comment Monday afternoon. Owner Dave Winship was unavailable for comment.
