Man struck by traffic light brought down by high winds

Rob Elgas Image
Friday, February 19, 2016
Man hit by falling traffic light
Alonzo Fleming said he had just left McDonalds on 35th and Indiana Friday afternoon when a traffic light came crashing down on top him.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Friday's high winds injured a man who got quite a painful surprise as he walked on a sidewalk on Chicago's South Side. He said the high winds brought down a traffic light that took him out with it.

Sitting in a wheel chair, Alonzo Fleming said his arm and shoulder are in serious pain.

"Painful. It's sore, real sore," he said.

Fleming said he had just left McDonalds on 35th and Indiana Friday afternoon when a traffic light came crashing down on top him. He never saw it coming.

"I didn't see it come down. And you could just hear people like 'Whoa!' screaming like, 'Wow, what happened!' And I'm down on the ground and people are like, 'Just be still, just be still,'" he said.

As paramedics and fire fighters arrived, Fleming said they realized more debris could come down.

"And the pole was shaking and the other fireman is telling the guy that is taking care of me, 'Let's move him away because the pole is still shaking,'" he said.

While Fleming waits to hear the extent of his injuries, he wonders if the traffic light was properly mounted.

"The wind is strong, but I feel the pole should have been mounted in the ground more secure than it was," he said.