Worker Trapped Inside 130-Foot Gas Station Sign For Hours: Authorities

WILMINGTON, IL — A worker was rescued Tuesday after being stranded inside a gas station sign in Wilmington for hours, according to authorities.

The Wilmington Fire Protection District received a report shortly before 2 p.m. about a worker trapped in the sign in the area of Lorenzo and Southwest Frontage roads, the agency said.

Emergency personnel arrived to find a contractor about 130 feet above the ground in the enclosed sign structure after a lift malfunctioned, trapping him three hours earlier, according to the district.

He was too high for a ladder truck to reach, but authorities used a drone to stay in visual contact with him, and a replacement machine was found in the Joliet area and brought to the scene with an Illinois State Police escort.

MABAS Division 15 Technical Rescue Team members and a machine operator were able to reach the worker and bring him to safety unharmed.

The fire district asked people to avoid the area Tuesday afternoon and cautioned that Southwest Frontage Road was closed, but provided an update that it had reopened shortly after 6:30 p.m.