Crews rescue worker who was trapped at Paulding concrete plant, officials say

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Fire officials have rescued a man who was trapped under material at a Paulding County concrete plant.

The incident happened Tuesday at Wayne Davis Concrete along Hailey Path in Dallas, Georgia.

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Paulding County fire officials confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that a man in his mid-30s became stuck in a hopper.

News Chopper2 flew over the incident early Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency crews were up against time during the dramatic rescue. News Drone 2 captured what crews train for.

Their skills played a huge role as they rescued a worker who was nearly neck-deep into three tons of sand.

“We got here and we couldn’t actually see the top of his head,” said Lt. Josh Collier of the Paulding County Fire Department.

Not long after that, there was a second collapse of material burying the man even deeper.

“If you can see it’s approximately 20 to 25 feet down. He had material on top of him and underneath him so he was trapped,” Collier explained.

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“They used the vacuum truck from the city of Dallas. They removed the material from around him,” Lt. Steve Mapes of Paulding County Fire and Rescue said.

All hands were on deck as crews from Paulding and Cobb County worked together.

“If you look at some of the overhead images, it was almost a shoot in the material that goes all the way down to the bottom of the hopper where the dump trucks come and pick the material up,” Mapes explained.

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After nearly five hours, crews were able to rescue the man. Rescuers pulled the worker out of the hopper and placed him on a stretcher. He was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital.

“He’s cautious and alert. They just extricated (him). He knows what happened. He talked to the rescuers (and was) complaining of pain in his back and his legs,” Mapes said. “He is cold. He has been in this material for five hours.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this. This is truly a Christmas miracle,” Mapes said.

Fire officials have not released the man’s identity.

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