This week, a worker fell off the Ambassador Bridge into the Detroit River. He was pulled out of the water within minutes by a passing boat and taken to a hospital. Surprisingly, the worker is expected to survive. The chances of survival after off of a bridge are typically slim. Hitting the water from that height wouldn’t be too dissimilar to slamming against a solid surface.
The CBC reported that a contractor for the Ambassador Bridge Company fell 42.67 m from scaffolding fixed to the bridge deck at 4:20 p.m. local time. The J.W. Westcott, a boat passing underneath the bridge, was close enough to get the fallen worker onboard before the U.S Coast Guard arrived at the scene. He was somehow conscious and talking after taking the massive plunge. The boat’s captain Sam Buchanan told the CBC:
“The force did rip his clothes off of him. He had his shirt on but his pants had been pulled all the way around his ankles and his work boots were still on. I’m amazed that he survived that fall. But he was young and looked quite strong to me. The thing that makes me happy is that he’s alive and his family is not going to get some bad news tonight.”
The Ambassador Bridge is North America’s busiest international crossing and has had to deal with worker safety issues in the past. In 2012, Michigan OHSA fined four companies after incorrectly erected scaffolding resulted in a worker falling to his death. Unexpected cable movement shifted the scaffold deck to a near-vertical angle.