Construction Worker Fell Into Hole, Was Pinned Under Forklift at Museum of Science and Industry: Police

A construction worker fell into a hole and became trapped by a forklift while working at the Museum of Science and Industry late Monday evening.

Police said the 51-year-old man was rescued by the Chicago Fire Department after being pinned under a forklift around 10:30 p.m. at the museum in the 5700 block of South Cornell Drive.

CFD Chief of Special Operations Tim Walsh said that the forklift weighted about 1000 pounds.

“It takes some time to cut some lumber and get specialized heavy lifting tools in there to be able to lift that forklift off,” he said.

Fire officials said they used “various life safety equipment” to lift the forklift off – a rescue that took roughly 45 minutes.

The man was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in “critical but stable condition,” according to fire officials. Police said he injured his left arm.

“We routinely respond to several construction accidents a day, across the city,” Walsh said. “There’s a lot of construction, a lot of high rises going up in the city so we always send an upgraded response including our special operations companies to make sure we’re doing a good job.”