FRUITLAND, Md. - Multiple first responders were on the scene in Fruitland on Tuesday after an excavator fell into a retention pond, trapping the operator under water.
Fruitland Fire Company Deputy Chief Curtis Kennedy says emergency crews received a 911 call on Dec. 9 after the excavator went into the water near Slab Bridge Road. The victim was still trapped when first responders arrived.
The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office says the property owner reported he had noticed the operator's car on the premises but was unable to locate him and contacted authorities. When authorities were unable to find the man on the property, the Salisbury Fire Department Dive Team were requested to search the 40-foot pond.
Chopper 16 was overhead as a dive team pulled the man from the water.
The patient was taken by ambulance to a nearby Maryland State Police helicopter, which then flew him to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, according to Kennedy.
Kennedy tells WBOC the patient was not conscious when he was pulled from the water.
On Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office confirmed the man tragically did not survive the incident. The Sheriff's Office identified him as Paul Jones, 81.
Police say it is currently unclear how the excavator entered the pond or the circumstances leading up to the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
