A city employee at Portland’s fleet vehicle maintenance shop was in critical condition Friday evening after being impaled by a wrecking bar at work.
A spokesperson with Portland Fire & Rescue said an “errant accident” sent an approximately 6-foot-long pry bar flying toward the employee.
“The victim was impaled in the abdomen with a long wrecking bar… that went completely through the body while performing the assigned duties of work,” a city press release said.
The employee wasn’t able to enter an ambulance because of the bar. Instead, first responders walked the employee on a gurney to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center’s trauma center, which is located directly across the street.
First responders and city workers remained at the hospital in case surgeons needed their assistance in removing the steel bar using specialized cutting tools, but surgeons were able to remove the bar without cutting it.
The name of the employee had not been released.
Portland Fire & Rescue has a mental health coordinator working with crews who were on the scene during the incident. The agency is also working with Trauma Intervention Program Northwest.
