Person rescued after falling 30 feet into covered well, officials say
By Capt. Roy Taylor, Khiree Stewart, Jake Shindel
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CATONSVILLE, Maryland (WBAL) — A man was rescued after falling 30 feet into a covered-up well, SkyTeam 11 reported.
The man fell into the covered well on Tuesday and was rescued Wednesday, Travis Francis, bureau chief of the Baltimore County Fire Department, told 11 News. 11 News has learned the man had been trapped since around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Numerous units responded around 2 p.m. to a confined space rescue on Old Frederick Road in Catonsville, according to the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department.
Wesley Straffin, a nearby resident, heard the man’s calls for help.
“I was going to get my dogs in from the backyard, and I heard some dude calling for help, so I didn’t know what to do. I went downstairs, grabbed my dad and we went in the backyard to see if we could hear anything,” Straffin told 11 News.
Wesley Straffin and his father, Matt Straffin, began searching.
“We started to call out, ‘Hello, hello,’ because we couldn’t tell where it was coming from,” Matt Straffin said. “Then we heard him reply with, ‘Help, help.’ It turned out it was our neighbor right behind us who had fallen into a well.”
The two called 911 and gave the man water. The man told officials he had no idea a well was there.
“It looked like the ground just gave way. It was about a 2.5-foot-wide hole,” Matt Straffin said.
The man who fell into the well suffered serious injuries, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department.
“He was just down at the bottom with a metal pole sticking out, which I’m guessing he used to try and climb out earlier,” Wesley Straffin said.
After the rescue, officials said the man was taken to Shock Trauma for treatment of back and shoulder pain.
“Thank God; it could have been a lot worse,” Wesley Straffin said. “I’m thankful that we heard him, and I’m thankful that help arrived as fast as it did.”
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