Worker rescued from Everett boom lift accident

Nov 25, 2023

Firefighters responded with a ladder truck, but by the time they were in place, another lift was bringing the worker to safety.

EVERETT — A worker in a cherry-picker bucket was rescued after a lift partly tipped over Wednesday at a construction site in north Everett.

Photos showed a Genie boom lift that folded awkwardly at the base around 1:30 p.m., while its bucket was three or four stories in the air near the Kaiser Permanente Everett Medical Center at 2930 Maple St.

Eric Stover, a witness, arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. Stover said the worker had been strapped into the lift, but all the tools aboard looked to have been flung onto the floor of the site.

"It was like a slingshot," Stover said.

Everett firefighters responded to the scene of a partially tipped over Genie boom lift on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Photo courtesy Doug Waterman)

Doug Waterman, owner of Doug's Towing, was driving east in a tow truck on Pacific Avenue around 1:30 p.m. when an Everett Fire Department ladder truck passed him with emergency lights flashing.

Once he spotted the lift accident, he parked his truck and ran back to the scene. When he arrived, Waterman could see one man motionless on the floor of the bucket, at almost a 45-degree angle.

"I was hoping he was OK," Waterman said. "Not moving at first. I was scared for him."

Waterman watched another lift move upward to the trapped worker. Just as the fire department's ladder truck moved into position, the trapped worker was able to transfer to another lift.

"He went from the one bucket to the other," Waterman said.

There were no serious injuries, according to the fire department.

The road was expected to be closed for "the next couple of hours while the accident is investigated," the fire department tweeted.

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; [email protected]; Twitter: @mayatizon.

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Construction workers gather around after an accident involving a boom lift resulted in no injuries at a construction site at Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)