Worker Injured in Ladder Fall Recovering
54-year-old Joseph Martinez of Aurora, CO, is a cement finisher by trade and an ex-Marine who teaches karate. He was injured in a construction accident two months ago after falling 15-feet off a ladder onto concrete inside a Denver Water pump station under construction. He landed on his feet and broke his femur, heel and a bone in his spine. "The last few feet was like slow motion. When I hit, I heard it go crush." In the past few days he's been learning how to walk again. It took firefighters 45 minutes to rescue him. "They couldn't get to me. They had to climb up 30 feet, then down 30 feet, then walk over to get me," says Martinez. He said the firefighters helped comfort him during a very scary situation. "He kept hearing me go, 'hoowa' because it hurt. And he said, 'You're a Marine aren't you?' I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'Semper Fi,' which means always faithful." Martinez hopes to be out of the care center in two weeks.
