Gainesville Fire and emergency crews rescued an injured worker on the westbound side of the Dawsonville Highway bridge Thursday afternoon.
A 29-year-old male was painting the framework under the bridge and fell 12 feet sometime around 4:15 p.m., according to Fire Division Chief Kieth Smith.
The crews working under the bridge had a safety net and Smith said although it caught the worker, he didn't escape the ordeal unscathed.
"He apparently lost his footing. He only fell about 12 feet, but when he fell he struck the metal framework under there," he explained. "He did suffer some head injuries and injuries to his chest."
Smith said because the worker was painting underneath the middle of the bridge, personnel used high angle rope rescue rigging to place him in a stokes basket for removal from under the bridge.
"With time constraints in mind, we decided to put our tower truck on the eastbound bridge and lower the truck down between the two bridges as far as it would go," Smith explained.
"The personnel that were with the patient rigged him up in a stokes basket," he continued. "We then raised the patient out from underneath the westbound bridge and brought him out and placed him on the eastbound bridge so that the ambulance could treat and transport him."
Smith said the worker was transported to Gainesville's Northeast Georgia Medical Center in serious condition.
Both Gainesville and Hall County Fire and Rescue units worked the scene.
