Construction worker pinned under paving machine on I-5
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VANCOUVER, Wash. - A highway construction worker is fighting for his life after he was pulled from beneath a large paving machine early Thursday morning in Vancouver.
The accident took place at about 3:30 a.m. on a highway paving project near the intersection of Interstate 5 and State Road 500. The injured man was working for Granite Construction.
He was identified by the Washington State Patrol as Justin Pitts and is in critical condition.
It took about 45 minutes for fire crews to pull Pitts from under the machine and Granite Construction officials said an initial attempt to lift the paving machine off of him with another piece of equipment did not work. Granite Constuction said earlier reports that the paving machine fell back onto Pitts a second time are not accurate.
A coworker said he wasn't sure how the accident happened since workers typically spot each other when equipment is being moved around. The paving machine was backing up when Pitts was hit, he said.
"I actually just want to go home, get this day over with," said Nick Chrisman, who was working at the site and witnessed the accident. Chrisman said he worries more about having an accident with vehicle traffic going by the job site than with the equipment the crew uses.
Pitts was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and then to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland for further treatment.
Washington Department of Transportation officials said SR500 going west at 39th will be closed "for some time" while crews continue work delayed by by the accident. They did not say when it might reopen.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating the incident. Officials with Granite Construction said they will also investigate what caused the accident.
The accident took place at about 3:30 a.m. on a highway paving project near the intersection of Interstate 5 and State Road 500. The injured man was working for Granite Construction.
He was identified by the Washington State Patrol as Justin Pitts and is in critical condition.
It took about 45 minutes for fire crews to pull Pitts from under the machine and Granite Construction officials said an initial attempt to lift the paving machine off of him with another piece of equipment did not work. Granite Constuction said earlier reports that the paving machine fell back onto Pitts a second time are not accurate.
A coworker said he wasn't sure how the accident happened since workers typically spot each other when equipment is being moved around. The paving machine was backing up when Pitts was hit, he said.
"I actually just want to go home, get this day over with," said Nick Chrisman, who was working at the site and witnessed the accident. Chrisman said he worries more about having an accident with vehicle traffic going by the job site than with the equipment the crew uses.
Pitts was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver and then to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland for further treatment.
Washington Department of Transportation officials said SR500 going west at 39th will be closed "for some time" while crews continue work delayed by by the accident. They did not say when it might reopen.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating the incident. Officials with Granite Construction said they will also investigate what caused the accident.
Best wishes to Mr. Pitts from one highway worker to another from the other side of the country!
Prayers to Justin and his family for a full recovery...
Obviously I don't know the details of this incident, but my brother in law was killed in a accident involving a paver, he was trapped beneath it as well but killed instantly, it just makes me wonder what the hell is going on.
Praying that Justin is ok..
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is there a reason why they couldn't just drive it forward (it was backing up)?
His hand, the sight of his hand brought me to tears. Hang in there! We are pulling for you Justin!
They get paid pretty well. Raker - Asphalt   $42.11 according to state prevailing wage laws. Yeah it is hard and dirty work but they are well compensated.
 https://fortress.wa.gov/lni/wagelookup/prvWagelookup.aspx
There are two blue collar guys I have no problem paying the high wages they get...
PSE linemen and asphalt layer crews... those guys are out working in the most God-awful conditions.
Good luck and Godspeed Mr. Pitts!
Legacy Emanual is an EXCELLENT trauma center, especially for a crushing injury such as this. I had a friend whose leg was crush by a semi (he was trying to do something under the piggyback for the second trailer, and the trailer rolled over his leg). LE has a doctor on staff there who works with the Ilizarof (sp?) frame - they put my friend in it, and 18 months later his leg was completely healed, new bone had grown, and he is back to driving. It's amazing, since many of the firsst responders thought for sure he would lose his leg.Â
@LocalLady Back in the prehistoric 80's I arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center [Ft. Houston TX] with a bullet-shattered shin. Damned thing was just in pieces. Luckily, I had a great ortho doc who was able to install a fiberglass shin [I was lucky in that I had remnants of the shin below the knee joint and above the ankle joint]. Thank God for docs with the courage to think outside the box!
Usually these problems come from working hours that humans just aren't designed to work. Your body tells you to go to sleep when the sun goes down. Its a huge problem in the trucking industry. They keep trying to come up with safe work hours but if you're driving at night everyone is a little unsafer. Drove for 20 years and retired 5 years ago, still can't sleep at night. Its very hard on your health.
Hang in there, man! Hopefully they can determine how this accident happened and how to prevent it from happening again in the future.
Some machines just don't stop at the slightest warning of trouble, and noise in that particular environment is bad as well. You try to keep eyes on everyone, but you end having to trust that they know what they are about sooner or later. Hope he recovers well, because true fault is often hard to prove in these circumstances.
Sending all the best thoughts I can!!
How horrible. My thoughts are with you and yours Justin.
Hang in there Justin - people are praying for you right now.