‘Terrified’ man trapped inside 130-foot gas station sign sent tragic message to family in ‘final words’
A man trapped inside a sign for six hours recorded a final goodbye message for his wife and children.
AJ Gow, an electrician from Chicago, US, was stuck inside the sweltering, 130-foot-tall sign at an Illinois petrol station last month due to an issue with his lift.
He told ABC 7 that the lift malfunctioned while he was working in Wilmington on 21 July.
"It was a hot day. There was really no air, so I sent my co-worker down. I said, 'go get me some water and my battery powered fan'. He went down, and on his way back up the lift had an issue and could not make it back," AJ said.
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Efforts to repair the lift continued way into the afternoon, and by about 2pm, AJ had been stranded inside for four hours.
"Eventually I started to feel like crap. And I told him, you know, call EMS. I said, I don't care what you have to do, get me down," AJ added.
"In the moment, it was getting hairy. I mean I was getting - I was genuinely getting scared, and I didn't know what was going to happen. And yeah, I was freaking out," he said.
AJ opted to record messages for his wife and children in case he didn’t make it out.
"God forbid if something were to actually happen - it was my final words. So essentially a goodbye without saying goodbye," he said.
Rescuers thankfully found a lift tall enough to reach him in the nearby city of Joliet.
“Fire District personnel responded arriving on scene at the intersection of Lorenzo Rd and the Southwest Frontage Rd to find that a contractor conducting work was stranded approximately 130 feet above ground inside an enclosed sign structure toward the top of a sign pole,” the Wilmington Fire Protection District said.
They explained that ‘no ladders or stairs built into the sign pole were present eliminating the possibility of rescue team personnel ascending to the victim’s location as would normally occur in a high angle rescue. The victim’s location was also beyond fire department ladder truck capabilities’.
A drone was then launched ‘near the sign opening to maintain visual contact with the victim while command staff developed a rescue plan’.
“The malfunctioning lift was able to be lowered and removed from the base of the tower while a replacement machine was located in the Joliet area,” the Fire District added.
“The boom lift was brought to the scene with an Illinois State Police escort where it was then moved from its trailer and into place.
“Division 15 Technical Rescue Team members along with a machine operator ascended to the victim’s location and transferred him from the sign to the lift.
“The victim was returned to safety with no victim or rescuer injuries.”
“Although unconventional means were used to effect the rescue due to circumstances, everyone went home safe and uninjured yesterday,” Wilmington Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Todd Friddle told PEOPLE.
Topics: US News
Anish Vij