Construction worker Shane Reimche of Invision Construction in Eugene, Oregon narrowly escaped being impaled by a four-foot diameter runaway circular saw blade that bounced and skidded at full speed across the parking lot of the Quick Trip Market. It only stopped when it hit the door where Reimche had entered just seconds before.
The saw blade probably came from an NW Natural construction site. A spokesperson for the company stated that the incident is being investigated.
This incident involved a contractor at a NW Natural job site. We are reviewing our association with this contractor, and we have removed the contractor from other work for us for now. NW Natural’s safety team is working with the contractor as they write a report on the incident to identify the root causes of the mishap and what needs to be corrected in the future.
Both Reimche spoke with KEZI News 9 about his close call.
I was walking into the store here, I put my hand on the door and I heard a loud bang and yelling…Just as a cloud of smoke pops up and I see a guy fall in the ditch. And a four-foot blade hurtling at me. Last minute I was able to duck behind the counter
Reimche also shared how shaken he was.
I don’t think I would’ve survived being touched by that thing. I need a beer. I’m still shaken. It’s 9 o’clock. I’m not going to work today.
Store owner Amit Grewal, who provided surveillance footage, described the impact of the incident.
We were standing behind the counter, all I heard was metal rolling down the street..It was just wind, all of a sudden we heard a loud bang, it shook the whole store.
