SAN ANTONIO – An 18-year-old man was impaled by a 32-foot fence pole during a roadway accident Wednesday morning on the city's far North Side.
The victim was airlifted to University Hospital in critical condition with a portion of the pole still in his body, police said.
The man was speeding in the 18,000 block of Redland Road around 2:30 a.m., when he jumped a curve, took out a mailbox, hit a telephone pole and slammed into the fence, police said.
Lester Theis, who owns the property where the crash happened, said he installed the fence about two months ago.
"I'm dumbfounded. I mean, no words for it, you know," Theis said.
Police said the pole entered through the front windshield and went through the victim's chest. Six feet of the rail poked out the back of the vehicle. Emergency crews had to cut the metal pipe both in front and in back of his body.
"Through his chest? Boy, he's lucky to be alive," Theis said.
Police said they found an unopened beer can and marijuana inside the car.
Man impaled by 32 feet of fence pole in Far North Side accident, miraculously survives, in stable condition pic.twitter.com/IYTWhcUGN7
— Joshua Skurnik (@JoshSkurnikTV) July 13, 2016