Driver Rescued After Backhoe Falls Off Bridge

A driver was trapped after the backhoe he was operating went off a bridge near Shelton, said Mason County Sheriff Dean Byrd.

The incident happened around 10 a.m. Thursday on a logging road near West Shelton-Matlock Road.

Chopper 7 over the scene showed the backhoe completely upside down and the driver trapped underneath. Another logging truck with a crane on it was used to stabilize the backhoe.

"The loader was actually driving over the bridge and somehow or another tumbled over off of the bridge," said Chief Mark Visaya of the Mason County Fire District 16, “And he became pinned underneath the cab of the loader from his legs down."

Paramedics assessed the situation and ended up going below the bridge and used a hydraulic spreader to lift the backhoe off the man.

Crews were able to remove the 53-year-old driver from the backhoe around 11:30 a.m. He was put into an ambulance and transported to a nearby airlift.

"Near as we could tell he did have some leg fractures. His injuries are critical, but I would not classify them as life-threatening," Visaya said.

Rescuers said despite the severe injuries to the man's legs, he was conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital.