Jackie Wilcox, a 34-year-old employee of R. A. Scott Construction Company, was hospitalized Wednesday morning after he was struck in the face by a circular saw while working on cutting a large metal pipe. Wilcox, a resident of Daytona Beach, was in shock after the incident but the injury was non-life-threatening.
According to a Flagler County Sheriff’s report, witnesses at the scene said that once Wilcox had cut through a large metal pipe with a circular saw, the two halves of the pipe pinched the saw, causing the saw to buckle. The foreman, Rick Rush, said that Wilcox let go of the saw right after the blade became stuck, but the saw broke loose, shot up in the air, and struck Wilcox in the face.
The incident took place in a large hole on the north side of Palm Coast Parkway Northwest, just west of Boulder Rock Drive, on the north side of the parkway. “I observed an area near the pipe that Jackie had cut that had collected some blood,” deputy Fiona Ebrill reported. At the hospital, Wilcox “appeared to be unaware of what had happened, and asked his co-worker multiple times what had happened. The staff at the hospital advised that Jackie was in a state of shock, which was why he was asking the same questions repeatedly. They asked if Jackie had fallen and struck his head. Jackie’s co-worker could only advise that Jackie fell over on his side after the accident occurred.”
Wilcox sustained a large laceration to his right cheek. The incident was reported to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Services Division and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
“There have not been any other incidents since we started the Palm Coast Parkway six-laning project,” Traci Missildine, a spokeswoman for the Hill International, which oversees the project, said this afternoon. “The Team would like to extend to Mr. Wilcox our best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery. Thankfully, he is stable and at home resting. All of the proper safety precautions were in place, and this was an unfortunate accident. Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we are pleased we have had no other accidents. We will continue to do all we can to make the six-laning project workplace safe.”
Palm Coast Parkway is being six-laned and enhanced with pedestrian and bike paths on both sides along 1.23 miles from Cypress Point Parkway/Boulder Rock Drive to Florida Park Drive. The $8.4 million to $9.6 million project is being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation.
confidential says
My best wishes that young Mr. Wilcox gets well soon.
Jason Driggs says
I hope he is back on his feet quickly! I cannot wait for this project to get done. Even though traffic will still slow to 15-20 mph as they go over the bridge due to the slope (can’t see what’s on the other side until you pass the midway point) the extra lanes and especially the longer turning lanes on both sides should make a big difference in moving eastwest.
I can’t help but wonder if the eventual Matanzas Woods interchange is actually going to make more of an impact on the Palm Coast Parkway traffic than this widening project will. I know I’ll be using I-95 constantly to move from north to south through the city. Rarely will I ever again even need to drive on Belle Terre, Old Kings Road (north), or Forest Park Drive to get from NorthSouth. Between these two projects traffic should really improve around here.
And for you Forest Park Drive residents, the reason I am on your street 10 times a day is I have to travel between Daytona State College and Matanzas High School (multiple trips). There simply is no other good option of getting there (don’t even think of mentioning Old Kings Road, I’ve tried, it takes 5 extra minutes just to get from Florida Park to Old Kings, plus it’s bumper to bumper too). Once the interchange is built, I’ll hop on I-95 right there by the school, south one exit to Palm Coast Parkway, it’ll probably take half the time. Residents: I cannot WAIT to stop driving on Florida Park Drive. It’s really awful for you and me both. You should definitely support the interchange being built because I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. And people who like to call it a “shortcut” annoy me. If you exit I-95 and need to get to the upper C-section (Cimmaron area) there is NO other reasonable way to do it than taking Florida Park Drive. Look at a map. It’s not a “shortcut”, it’s the only way. A shortcut would imply there’s a longer way that’s more appropriate. But there is not. That’s a lot of people needing to drive on your street every day just to get pretty much anywhere. Maybe at least some of them will go north to the new interchange when it’s built.
Jose Caniusi says
And He’ll probably get a ticket from the city for bleeding on city property.
Anonymous says
Sounds like there was no guard on the saw to prevent injury.