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Garage falls on builder in demolition horror: Video
Grant Prior | Thu 2nd May | 12:58
A builder’s leg was saved by surgeons after it was nearly ripped off when the garage he was demolishing collapsed.
Former paratrooper Jake Weir had to dig himself out of a huge pile of bricks and concrete after the accident in Lincolnshire.
His severed leg was left hanging from his body by only a strand of skin.
The horror accident last year was caught on video by the man who commissioned Weir to bring down the garage.
Weir told the Lincolnshire Echo: “I’ve had flashbacks of that moment, it still haunts me. Honestly, I thought I was gone, I thought that was it.
“When I first saw the video it was very difficult to watch – now I can see the funny side, but I’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster.”
Medics initially feared the 33-year-old he would have to have his leg amputated.
But leading expert Professor Chris Moran at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham heard of his case and agreed to treat him.
Weir said: “I can’t get over what’s happened to me. I’ve gone from thinking I’m going to lose everything to making a full recovery.
“Without being too dramatic – I honestly think it’s miraculous.”
Professor Moran performed a six-hour reconstruction operation on Mr Weir and despite being told he wouldn’t walk, he can now run five miles in one gym session.
Professor Moran said: “When I first saw him, his type of injury was as severe as it could be, without having to be amputated.”
His said an average hospital would only see an injury like Mr Weir’s on average once every five years. The reason he was able to be treated was because of the expertise of care at QMC which is the major trauma centre for the East Midlands.
In June Weir will be performing a skydive on the anniversary of his accident.
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