Bristol Borough Firefighters Rescue Pinned Walmart Worker

A Walmart worker, trapped on the loading dock Monday night, was rescued by firefighters and EMTs from Bristol Borough.

Bristol Borough Fire Chief Herb Slack said sometime at about 7 p.m the 19-year-old associate, whose name was not released, wedged his leg between the store's loading dock bumper and the back of a parked 18-wheel tractor-trailer at the Walmart store located between routes 13 and 413.

Firefighters and rescue crews worked to free the man while a crowd of nearly 30 people watched intently from a safe distance across the street.

Slack siad the worked was trapped when he lost his footing while working in the loading dock. His leg was wedged between the truck and the dock slightly below the knee.

Firefighter crews managed to free the worker at about 7:50 p.m. It took some time because rescue workers needed to make a wood cribbing to ensure the spring-loaded dock flap didn't lift upward when they pushed the truck forward, Slack said.

"If we didn't crib (the dock flap), it could have lifted and caused more injuries," Slack said.

Once cribbed, rescue workers used an inflatable air-bag to push the trailer far enough to safely extract the worker.

Deputy Fire Chief for Bristol Borough Tony Riccio said the extent of the injuries to the victim were not immediately known at the time, but the worker was not pinned hard enough between the dock and the trailer to loose circulation in his leg.

As the victim was taken from the scene in a stretcher, he gave a thumbs-up sign to a cheering and applauding crowd.

Walmart officials store refused to comment on the incident, but did say they were told the associate was in good condition.