A 40-year-old mechanic remains in a critical condition after being crushed by a machine that resets bowling pins on Sunday afternoon.
William James Martens, of Panama City, Florida was trapped in the pin setting machine for 10 to 15 minutes before his coworkers at Rock’It Lanes were able to free him.
According to the Panama City Beach Police Department, Martens was blue and his heart had stopped, although medics were able to resuscitate him.
Police and emergency services were called to Rock'It Lanes in Panama City, Florida after a man got trapped in a bowling pin machine
Martens was taken him to hospital where he remained in critical condition at Bay Medical/Sacred Heart on Tuesday evening.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon when a family was bowling on lane 7 at Rock'It Lanes when the pin machine got stuck.
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According to a worker, the family kept hitting the lane reset button. She looked down and saw an arm hanging out of the machine, reports News Channel 7.
When the worker went to the area behind the lanes she found Marten’s upper body trapped in the machine. The woman tried to free Martens but she was unable to lift the machine off him.
A family was bowling on lane 7 at Rock'It Lanes on Sunday afternoon when the pin machine got stuck due to repair man being trapped by it
Employees called another mechanic who instructed them to unplug the machine and then manually lift it off him. Fire and rescue personnel assisted in freeing Martens.
The family that had been bowling on lane 7 was moved to lane 8, but then back to lane 7 after it was repaired and lane 8 malfunctioned.
An employee told police Martens was supposed to be working on lane 8 and must have misunderstood the instructions.
Another worker told police he didn’t understand why Martens didn’t shut the machine down, which is standard procedure.
Employees called another mechanic who instructed them to unplug the machine and then manually lift it off him