Kenwood Academy student injured when light pole falls on her

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A light pole fell on a group of Kenwood Academy students on lunch break on Monday, sending a 16-year-old girl to the hospital with a serious injury, officials said.

The incident occurred in the 5200-block of South Lake Park in the city's Kenwood neighborhood. The girl sustained a compound leg fracture and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition.

Chicago police Sgt. Isaac Lambert was on patrol nearby, driving southbound on Lake Park Avenue, when he then saw three teenage girls on the sidewalk.

"As I'm getting closer to those young ladies, a city pole falls down and strikes the young ladies," Lambert said.

He ran to help them. The two girls were OK, but the pole landed on the 16-year-old friend.

"She was screaming, 'Call my mom, call my dad.' She was in a lot of pain. I could see from her injury," Lambert said.

Lambert tried to lift the pole off of her, but it was too heavy. Then, a Good Samaritan helped out.

"I couldn't do it. a gentleman comes over ... he assists me in getting pole of young lady," Lambert said.

Lambert called for an ambulance and said he spent the next 30-40 minutes trying to keep the growing crowd at a safe distance away from the victim.

He also tried to keep the girl and her friends calm.

"I tried to keep her from looking at it. I knew if she kept looking at it, should probably would have panicked even more ... Her friends were more hysterical than she was," Lambert said.

People in nearby businesses heard the commotion.

"It was excruciating. Almost like a horror movie when she was screaming," said Duane Armour, who noticed earlier in the morning that the pole was leaning heavily to one side.

Monday after, Chicago Department of Transportation crews retrieved the old pole, which appeared to be rusted out.