GUTTENBERG – An 80-year-old resident of the Galaxy Towers Condominiums in Guttenberg, N.J. lost control of his 2004 Pontiac and crashed backwards through a concrete wall on the 12th floor of the underground parking lot recently. The car plummeted down an enclosed air shaft, hitting fans on each floor, before smashing to rest on the fifth floor.
The resident then climbed out through the sun roof and called 911 for help.
The accident occurred a little before noon, two days after Christmas. However, the car remains wedged inside the air shaft as officials try to figure out how to remove it.
The parking lot was empty at the time and nobody saw or heard it happen.
Police responding to the 911 call were able to speak through a vent opening to the driver, who had slipped and become wedged between the car and the wall of the shaft. Rescue workers from the fire department entered the shaft through an access panel on the fifth floor and used the Jaws of Life to push the car away from the wall to free the driver’s leg. He was then transferred to Jersey City Medical Center with minor injuries.
To read more about this story, look for your local edition of the Hudson Reporter newspaper in North Bergen, Union City, West New York, Guttenberg, and Weehawken this weekend, or come back to hudsonreporter.com starting Sunday and scroll down to the town news.