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Dressed for Success

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From Various Austin, Texas News Sources

The 911 call started simply enough. The caller, a 52-year-old employee of Alamo Concrete, gave the address of the company east of Manor. Gasping, he struggled to give the phone number. Then, he blurted out what was wrong: "I have my arm cut off, ma'am. I have my arm cut off."

The man's arm was amputated at the elbow after it became stuck in a conveyor belt of a machine at Alamo Concrete, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services. According to Hassinger, the man was at work to warm up some equipment about 4:30 a.m. when his coat sleeve got stuck in the machine. The man typically went to the company early in the morning to start the machines for the day. He extricated himself from the machine in 15 minutes and called 911.

Almost one year later Bobby Kerstetter remembers the accident as if it happened yesterday. "In the blink of an eye, a thud," he remembered. "I was turned around sideways, looking at the stars, and when I turned back around, (my arm) was gone."

He felt no pain, but knew he wouldn’t survive if he didn't get help immediately. He untangled his coat jacket, and struggled to a phone. "I let my arm go, climbed down the ladder, picked my arm back up, walked into the office, sat down in the chair and dialed 911," said Kerstetter.

A loose coat sleeve caught in a piece of moving equipment changed Bobby Kerstetter's life. Take a look at how you are dressed today . . . this story brings a different meaning to the phrase "dressed for success".


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