A young municipal worker who fell seven metres when a lifting platform fell will have to learn to walk again after breaking several bones in the fall.
Brodee Hinchley, 22, was pruning trees in Yokine, north-east of Perth, last month when the crane lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
Mr Hinchley recounted the terrifying moment, which was captured on CCTV.
In the video, the 22-year-old is seen landing on the opposite side of the road as the machinery narrowly avoided colliding with a parked car.
“I remember holding on and thinking, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready,'” she told 7News.
As a result of the fall, Mr Hinchley suffered a fractured spine, pelvis, arm, ribs and ankle and a collapsed lung.
He revealed that his terrified companions who rushed to his aid “thought they were going to see me take my last breath.”
Mr Hinchley was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital where he stayed for two weeks and spent a week recovering in the trauma unit.
Brodee Hinchley, 22, broke several bones after falling on a lifting platform last month.
Mr Hinchley was pruning trees for the council when the horrific accident happened.
“It was like a movie… you look up and there are all these doctors around you (but) they are just focused on keeping you alive,” Hinchley said of arriving at the hospital.
‘They had to operate on me, so what they did was put some screws (in my butt) and they put a cage where my pubic bone is.’
Miraculously, Mr Hinchley has managed to find a silver lining.
“Considering the injuries, I’m not paralyzed or dead,” he said. “But as a supervisor I’m glad it was me and not them.”
Orthopaedic surgeon Sam Young said Hinchley was “very lucky”.
“It could easily have been the other way around, but he could easily have suffered life-threatening injuries,” Dr Young said.
Mr Hinchley’s injuries from the fall included a fractured pelvis and a fractured spine.
Mr Hinchley said shocked colleagues thought he might have breathed his last.
A Stirling City spokesman confirmed after the crash that Mr Hinchley had been employed to work for the council.
“The city is aware of an incident involving a contractor earlier today,” he said.
‘The City understands that the person involved is receiving medical attention.’
WorkSafe was notified and has been investigating the incident.
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