A man is in extremely critical condition after getting trapped by a piece of industrial machinery in west Phoenix, with coworkers freeing him from the equipment before firefighters even reached the scene. Phoenix Fire Department crews responded around noon to the area of 67th Avenue and Buckeye Road, only to find the situation had already been partially resolved by the people working alongside him.
According to AZ Family, coworkers moved the equipment and freed the man themselves, a quick response that eliminated the need for a complex rescue operation once fire crews arrived. Paramedics treated the man at the scene before rushing him to a local trauma center, where he remains with life-threatening injuries.
What Led to the Accident Remains Unclear
Phoenix fire officials said the man was in extremely critical condition following the incident, but details on what led to the accident have not been released. It's not yet known what type of machinery was involved or what the man and his coworkers were doing at the time.
Industrial machinery entrapments are not unique to Phoenix. Earlier this year, a worker was seriously injured after becoming trapped in industrial machinery at a business in New Berlin, Wisconsin, according to WISN. A separate incident in Rockville, Maryland, left a worker airlifted to a Baltimore trauma center after his hand became trapped in machinery at a local business, per WUSA9.
Federal Guidance on Machine Safety
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has long warned that improper training around moving equipment is a leading factor in amputation and entanglement injuries. Guidance from the agency notes that adequate instruction in the safe use and care of machines, along with supervised on-the-job training, is essential in preventing such injuries, and that only trained employees should operate machinery, according to OSHA.
Separately, OSHA reporting rules require that a work-related fatality discovered after the fact be reported within eight hours, while an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye must be reported within 24 hours, per the agency's regulation on reporting fatalities and hospitalizations. It remains unclear whether that process has been triggered in this case, as no further details on the cause of the west Phoenix accident have been released.
For now, the man's identity, his employer and the exact nature of the machinery involved have not been disclosed. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
