GILROY
– An Eagle Ridge construction worker suffered minor internal
head injuries Thursday afternoon when a bridge structure he was
working on collapsed, sending the man on a 30 foot free fall into a
trickling creek.
GILROY – An Eagle Ridge construction worker suffered minor internal head injuries Thursday afternoon when a bridge structure he was working on collapsed, sending the man on a 30 foot free fall into a trickling creek.
The worker was Francisco Torres, 44, according to Torres’ work partner, who declined to give his name.
Rescue crews arrived on the scene around 3:30 p.m. at the south end of Eagle Ridge Court near Bullybunion Drive where Torres fell, eventually pulling him out of the creek and transporting him a quarter mile up the road by ambulance where he was met with a helicopter ambulance that transported him to a Santa Clara Valley hospital.
Rescue workers on the scene said Torres was lucky to have full body motion and did not appear to suffer paralysis, and Torres was released from the hospital this morning.
“I was on one side of the bridge and Francisco was on the other when it just collapsed,” said Torres’ co-worker. “I saw him and all the materials fall and he was just laying there not saying anything. When I got down there blood was coming out his ears.”
Shapell Industries is the developer of the Eagle Ridge area, although several separate construction contractors are believed to be building within the division.
When contacted this morning a Shapell official said she was not aware of the accident or which construction company employed Torres.
