WINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. --
Rescue crews had to use ropes and a basket to pull a man to safety after the crane he was operating toppled off a bridge in Butler County.
The accident happened Monday along Mushroom Farm Road in Winfield Township.
The crane fell about 95 feet off a bridge, partially trapping the operator, according to Channel 11 News reporter Amy Marcinkiewicz.
The victim was alert and talking to rescuers as they strapped him to a basket and carried him up a hillside to safety, Marcinkiewicz said.
Channel 11 has learned that the operator works for Russell Standard, a company that is contracted with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to do some resurfacing on the bridge.
Rescuers said the victim lost his foot in the accident, but they were able to pull him from the wreckage.
"We used airbags but that didn't work so we had to use shovels to dig him out," said Winfield Township fire Chief John Hartman. "We brought him up and he's alive in the ambulance. That's all we can ask for."
PennDOT officials said it appears that something went wrong with the crane that caused the accident.
"This was a brand new crane. We think something mechanical or something on the bridge decking went wrong," said Bob Skrak of PennDOT.
Raw: Man Rescued After Crane Topples Over Bridge
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