Manchester, NH – September 13, 2012 – Ken Beard, owner of RPG Recovery LLC of Manchester can thank alert neighbors and the quick response of emergency workers for saving his life after his flatbed truck which he was working on rolled over and crushed his legs.
Mere hours after the accident he was full of praise for the emergency workers who were at his side at his impound yard within a few minutes of the accident.
“I own my own home here in the city and I yap every time my taxes go up,” Beard said. “But I was ready to go into shock and was ready to pass out and they were there to get me out of there.”
Beard was reportedly making repairs to the drive shaft on the truck when he released the final bolt holding it to the universal joint.
The emergency brake on the truck works by engaging the drive shaft, and once the drive shaft was free, the truck rolled.
“When he turned the last bolt, that was enough” said District Fire Chief Al Poulin.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Beard said.
The flatbed was parked with its front end pointed downhill in an inclined section of the parking lot. Gravity carried the truck downhill rolling over Beard’s legs.
“I actually got dragged, it was dragging me when the guys at Mancheser Motorsports heard me calling for help,” he said. “The EMTs and the fire department was there in about three minutes, I couldn’t believe it,”
Even while getting the scare of his life, and being in excruciating pain, Beard showed his appreciation for the rescue workers.
He was shaking the hand of one of the responders as he was packed into an ambulance, and made sure to get the names of the crew that came to his aid
“The crew of first shift, Engine 11; the EMT, Nick Orestis; paramedic Mike Corbin and District Chief Poulin were just awesome; these people were just oustanding,” he said.
Beard suffered a shattered left ankle and multiple broken bones in his other foot as well.
Beard won’t be able to drive a manual transmission tow truck for a while, but says his business makes frequent use of subcontractors.
“For a horrible, horrible situation, it could have been so much worse,” he said.
Every time we crawl under one of our trucks or repos, we are taking our lives into our hands. Chock those wheels, use jack stands, pay attention. Wishing this guy the best in his recovery.