A man who was temporarily without a pulse Tuesday after a trench collapsed on him near the new fire station in Hillsboro was still in critical condition late Wednesday afternoon.
Hillsboro Police Department Captain Jeff Murphy said Wednesday that the 26-year-old man was “in extremely critical condition is what we’re being told.”
Murphy said he could not release the man’s name because he did not know if the man’s family had been contacted.
However, he did say the man was from Belmont, Ohio and that he was working for Stauffer Site Services in Mason when he was injured.
The collapse took place shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday as crews were working on a storm sewer replacement project on the south side of the fire station.
The Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District’s Hillsboro station was dispatched to the scene near the intersection of Beech and North East streets at 2:53 p.m. Upon arrival they found the man almost completely buried by the partial collapse.
Also on the scene were officers from the Hillsboro Police Department, city employees and members of the construction crew, who all worked frantically to free the man.
The victim was without a pulse and was not breathing when he was extricated, according to Branden Jackman, a Paint Creek firefighter and spokesperson who was on the scene. Medical helicopters were on the scene by that time, but the victim was transported by ground to Highland District Hospital and as resuscitation efforts continued, a pulse was detected.
The man was then transported by Med Flight helicopter to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.
