They say life can change in an instant and who knew it more than an Antioch man who was trapped inside a storm drain for two days, but was dramatically rescued after a stranger heard his cries for help.
The incident happened on a piece of undeveloped land behind a Grocery store. As Jamie Linsey was walking by thought he heard shouting coming from under the ground.
The calls were growing louder and louder. Linsey said the voice was asking him for help.
Soon the firefighters arrived and opened a utility hole and found a man trapped about 15 feet underground.
It turns out the man had crawled some fairly long distance through a very small stormwater drainpipe, had gotten to a point where that pipe was blocked with debris, couldn’t go forward but also couldn’t go back because he was pretty much stuck.
It took firefighters about an hour to free the man who was in a section of pipe that was only about the diameter of a large pizza.
The man was was taken to the hospital in an ambulance but didn’t appear to have any visible injuries.
Firefighters still aren’t sure how the man got in the pipe in the first place…. Steve Hill with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District said, “Those places are not created for human occupation. They are not safe.”
However it happened, Jamie Lindsey is being hailed a hero for being alert and ready to help a person in need.