A construction worker was brought to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a construction accident at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Ball State University.
Bradley Rogers, an employee of Rhino Trucking & Excavating Inc., was tearing down the former Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house at 1515 Riverside Ave., when the excavator he was operating fell into the basement, crushing the cab.
Construction workers at the fraternity house and DeHority Complex across the street helped the worker out of the excavator before emergency units arrived.
Eric Jackson, another Rhino employee, pulled Rogers out of the machine.
"I'm surprised he's even alive, to be honest with you, the way that looks," Jackson said as he surveyed the wreckage.
Donn Walling, a 1973 Ball State alumnus and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, came to see the house get torn down with his son and another Sig Ep member. He said his friend questioned whether the foundation could hold the excavator moments before the floor collapsed. He said they ran up to the accident, where the trapped employee didn't respond.
A University Police officer at the scene said Rogers' arm was cut up and bloodied, but he did not have any serious injuries.
Rogers was taken by ambulance to Ball Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released the same day. Rebecca Bynum, president of Rhino, said he had three minor cuts and got no stitches.
Work has temporarily stopped at the site and the excavator remains in the ground.
Gary Canaday, manager of campus construction, said Rhino is responsible for removing the excavator, which he anticipates they will do in the next couple of days. He said he did not think this incident would put the project behind schedule.
Bynum declined to comment on when her company would move the excavator.
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