The video of the man impaled on the hook, including portions of EMS assessment, care and extrication has been added to this news post. Viewer discretion advised. Also, as you watch, consider the treatment you’d provide including requesting mutual aid, preparing for transport and advising the receiving hospital.
David Hernandez
The San Diego Union-Tribune
LAKESIDE, Calif. — A 54-year-old man riding a bike suffered life-threatening injuries in what authorities said was a bizarre accident Tuesday morning in Lakeside after a hook attached to a pickup impaled his neck.
Authorities said the man rode in front of the pickup of a garage door replacement company in a parking lot on Maine Avenue near Maplewood Street about 8:20 a.m. A hook on a roof rack attached to the 2017 Chevrolet truck pierced the right side of the man’s neck and jaw area, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.
He said the man was impaled for about 20 minutes while firefighters figured out whether to unhook him or cut off the hook. OnScene TV reported that firefighters consulted with medical experts. The man, who was standing, was conscious and talking as he waited.
“It took a few minutes to come up with a plan to figure out how (firefighters) were going to get him off of the truck,” Garrow told OnScene TV.
Firefighters eventually lifted the man off the hook, causing him to screech with pain and groan, according to OnScene TV video. He was placed on a gurney and taken to a hospital.
“He’s lucky right now,” Garrow said. “I haven’t seen that in almost 20 years of doing this job. I haven’t seen someone impaled like that and actually still be conscious, awake, oriented, alive, so definitely a strange one.”
He said neither drugs nor alcohol was a factor in the crash.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
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