An electrician trapped more than 130 feet above a Wilmington truck stop sign for over six hours has come forward to describe the ordeal, saying he recorded video messages for his wife and children in case he didn't make it down. A.J. Gow, who works for a company that services commercial signs, said what began as a routine job on Lorenzo Road turned into a genuinely frightening wait once the lift meant to bring him back down developed a mechanical problem.
Gow told his story in an interview with ABC7 Chicago, saying the July 21 incident began as an ordinary service call before things went sideways. He had accessed the sign using a lift, and the trouble started as his co-worker was returning to bring him back to the ground, according to Gow's account. The lift could not make it back up to reach him, and efforts to repair it on scene were unsuccessful, ABC7 Chicago reports.
With no way down, Gow asked his co-worker to call EMS. The Wilmington Fire Protection District responded to the scene, but as Free Press Newspapers previously reported, firefighters were dispatched to the Petro Travel Center at Lorenzo Road and Interstate 55 at 1:55 p.m. after receiving a call that a worker was trapped 130 feet up inside the sign structure.
Standard Ladders Couldn't Reach Him
Standard municipal fire department ladder trucks typically extend only to about 100 feet, according to KFI AM 640, leaving responding crews unable to reach Gow directly since his platform sat 130 feet above the ground with no internal ladder or stairs inside the sign pole itself. To keep eyes on Gow during the multi-hour operation, fire officials launched a drone to monitor him while the Illinois State Police provided a highway escort to move a 135-foot replacement boom lift 17 miles from Joliet to the scene, per the same Free Press Newspapers account. A different lift was ultimately borrowed from a nearby job site, and it arrived about an hour after the Wilmington Fire Protection District first responded, according to ABC7 Chicago.
The technical extraction itself was carried out by the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Division 15 Technical Rescue Team, a specialized inter-agency unit trained in high-angle, confined-space, and structural collapse emergencies across Will County, as reported by CBS News. Ten regional emergency and fire agencies assisted the Wilmington Fire Protection District during the operation, including units from Joliet, Braidwood, Coal City, Elwood, Gardner, Manhattan, Minooka, Plainfield, and Troy, according to Free Press Newspapers.
Hours Without Water in the Heat
By about 2 p.m., Gow had already spent four hours inside the sign without water, according to his account to ABC7 Chicago. Regional weather data for Wilmington recorded ambient temperatures reaching 94°F that day, according to Weather Underground, a heat load that would have been intensified inside an unventilated metal sign box elevated 130 feet above the asphalt. At one point Gow sent his co-worker down to retrieve water and a battery-powered fan, he told the outlet.
Gow said he became genuinely scared while awaiting rescue and recorded messages for his wife and children in case he did not survive, according to his interview with ABC7 Chicago. He also recorded video of the equipment being used in the rescue effort. Aerial footage captured Gow giving a thumbs-up signal as help finally arrived, the outlet reported.
Rescued After More Than Six Hours
Gow was rescued shortly before 4 p.m. after spending more than six hours trapped inside the truck stop sign on Lorenzo Road, according to KFI AM 640, which also reported that he was transported to a local hospital and treated for severe dehydration following the prolonged exposure at high elevation. Federal workplace safety rules under OSHA standard 29 CFR 1926.453 require workers operating boom-supported aerial lifts to wear personal fall protection, including a full-body harness anchored to the boom or basket, whenever the lift is elevated, according to American Rental Services. It remains unclear from available reporting what specifically caused the original lift to malfunction or whether a pre-use safety inspection had been conducted.
Gow said he was not prepared for the incident to draw the widespread attention it did. He has since returned to work servicing signs high above the ground, telling ABC7 Chicago he plans to remain inside the safety of the bucket while working and to avoid becoming stranded if a lift ever fails again. Gow said he is grateful for how the rescue turned out.
The Petro Travel Center sign tower on Lorenzo Road serves as a major landmark along Interstate 55, a high-volume freight corridor connecting Chicagoland to central Illinois, according to CDLLife. The Wilmington Fire Protection District had previously received a Unit Citation Award at the 32nd Annual Illinois Fallen Firefighter Memorial and Medal of Honor Ceremony in May 2025, recognizing exceptional teamwork in emergency operations.
