While construction zones are often inconvenient and kind of a pain, we like the end result of a completed city project.
We do our best to navigate safely through work sites, understanding that the maze of plastic cones and fencing barriers are there for both our protection and the safety of the construction workers.
We come to expect that while dangers lurk within the construction zone itself, the outside boundary will keep passersby safe from harm.
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As long as we don’t cross the boundary lines, we’ll be safe from any hazards.
But two people in Dukinfield, a town in Greater Manchester, England, found themselves in very serious danger when the boundary that was supposed to keep them safe from harm came crashing down on top of them.
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It was a windy day, and 61-year-old Ann Farrell was on her way to a medical appointment. She was passing by a bus station, partially under construction for improvements.
She walked past the construction zone, blocked off by red and white plastic guard rails with tall metal fencing attached on top of the rails.
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The tall barrier supposedly would keep the general public safe. But a hefty gust of wind blew through the area, and the next thing Farrell knew, she was under an avalanche of heavy metal fencing.
A man using a cane, who had been walking behind Farrell, was also trapped. Farrell recalled a bus driver racing to their aid, in an attempt to lift the barriers up.
It took ten men, Farrell said, to lift the fencing off her and the man behind her.
She was transported to a hospital and treated for severe bruising. The man’s condition is unknown.
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Farrell learned the plastic guard rails, which were supposed to act as an anchor for the high fencing, had not been properly installed along the construction route.
The plastic barriers are intended to be weighed down with water or dirt, but these were empty.
One for @H_S_E to investigate
Woman’s ordeal after 50ft of fencing crashes onto her at bus station
https://t.co/u9S6Qqz6MJ— Urban (@UrbanManc) July 29, 2018
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“The fencing wasn’t filled with water like it should be so at the first little bit of wind it was always going to blow over,” Farrell told the Manchester Evening News.
“I am just so grateful it wasn’t a small child.”
Farrell expressed disappointment that nobody from the bus station or public works has reached out to her to offer condolences or check on her wellbeing.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” Farrell said. “Thank God I am alive.”
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