Power Company Rescues Man Trapped Under Semi
A MidAmerican crew working about 80 yards away used their boom truck to lift the rear of the truck off a man who had gotten wedged underneath the tires of a big rig truck.


A MidAmerican Energy crew in Iowa is getting major kudos for helping to save the life of Richard Dawson, a 60-year old man who got trapped under a semi-truck in Ankeny on Oct. 23.
Witnesses told KCCI Dawson’s truck had gotten stuck in the gravel and he was attempting to gain traction by placing a piece of wood under the tires when he got wedged underneath.
That’s when a MidAmerican crew working about 80 yards away used their boom truck to lift the rear of the truck off of the victim, reported the Des Moines Register.
Witnesses said the crew saw what was happening and jumped in their boom truck and drove over to where the man was pinned. Within three to four minutes they hooked up their boom to the back of the semi and lifted it up, then waited until emergency crews arrived soon after to get the man out, according to KCCI.
Dawson suffered 22 fractured ribs, a broken collar bone and multiple facial fractures, according to the Des Moines Register. His wife, Peggy, calls the line crew heroes.
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