Saturday, March 10, 2012

More News

I found out a little bit more about what happened to my co-worker. 

This was his first week back after having had surgery, and they'd sent him over to train on a panel bending machine.  Well, the guy who was training him had gone to the bathroom or something.  Johnny -- that's his name, Johnny Spencer-- had shut the machine off and gone into it to change the setup.  The guy who was training him came back and apparently didn't see Johnny over there, since the control panel is several feet away from the machine itself. 

Ironically, they do that for safety reasons. 

Anyway, he didn't see Johnny over there and for some reason turned the machine back on, with Johnny still inside it.  It grabbed him up and started bending him.  It's designed to bend steel panels.  As soon as the guy realized what had happened, he hit the emergency stop button, but it was too late to prevent serious injury.  However, the head of the maintenance department said that if he'd been a half second slower, that machine would have cut Johnny in half and most likely would have killed him. 

They didn't even bother with the local hospital.  They airlifted Johnny straight to Jackson, which means the life flight helicopter picked him up from the plant.  I heard the helicopter go over the house, but because it was so low, it was very loud.  I thought it was one of the Army helicopters, since they were practicing with the airplanes and stuff.  It wasn't until I got to work this morning that I found out it was Lifeflight. 

He is in the hospital in Jackson now, with a crushed pelvis and a broken leg-- plus whatever internal injuries he may have suffered.  Y'all be much in prayer for him and his family.

Also be in prayer for the man who turned the machine on.  He didn't mean to hurt anyone.  They said that when he saw, he crumpled like tissue paper.  Think about how you would feel, if you'd almost killed someone. 

That's all I know right now.  They won't give us any updates out at the plant, but Johnny is a member of my church, so maybe I'll find out how he's doing from other church members.  I'll be sure to pass any information along to you, too.

2 comments:

Bag Blog said...

Working around machinery of any sort is so very dangerous. Just one slip of the mind, one mistake, and things could get ugly fast. I pray your coworker heals quickly.

Becky G said...

Yes, it is dangerous, and machines are very unforgiving. We've had accidents out there, but that was the worst.