CHARLOTTE, N.C. --
A local contractor said he will be back on the job soon after surviving a construction accident with just a few scrapes and bruises.
Bill Botkin, the owner of Outdoor Life, Inc., was working at St. John Lee Korean Catholic Church Tuesday when the accident happened.
Botkin was using a Bobcat to move dirt and rocks when his machine began sinking in the mud and a 200-pound boulder in his scoop suddenly tilted backward.
"It was just a situation, Murphy's Law, everything came together at one time," Botkin said. "The boulder came straight through the windshield at me like a basketball going through a hoop."
Man rescued from construction vehicle
Botkin said the rock pinned his legs, trapping him in the machine with no one around to help. He managed to grab his cellphone from a side pocket on his pants and call for help, trying to stay calm.
"My feet started to turn numb and then the numbness started to travel up my legs and that's when I really started to get panicked," Botkin said.
It took several crews of firefighters to lift the boulder out of the Bobcat and haul Botkin to safety.
He was taken to Carolinas Medical Center University, where a doctor stitched up a three inch gash on his shin and sent him home with a few other bruises.
Still, Botkin said he isn't fazed by his brush with fate and was already directing crews to various jobs this morning.
"I don't worry about the what if’s. I love what I do too much and I want to do it as long as I can," Botkin said.
Copyright 2011 by wsoctv.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
