Buckled bridge forces rough stop for metro man in wheelchair

(WOWT)
Published: Jun. 23, 2017 at 3:32 PM CDT
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Larry Greis needs a wheelchair in his struggle for mobility but that challenge was recently spiked during a trek across a buckled bridge near 72nd and Pacific.

It’s a high-traffic site for pedestrians and Larry’s trip to the hospital is serving as notice for pedestrians.

This is a trip he’s made many times but this time was different. “All of a sudden the wheelchair stopped short and I didn’t stop,” he said, “And I fell in a very awkward position."

Sidewalk Closed

Larry ended up on the ground yelling for help. A biker heard his cries and called an ambulance. Larry is now being treated for minor injuries.

His wife, Leslie Greis, said she contacted the city to repair the bridge. “I did send an email to the mayor's hotline last night and even last night they did send engineers out to look at the bridge."

The pathway in question has been closed and city personnel marked off spots on the bridge that need repair but Leslie said there might be several bridges just like this one.

“It's unfortunate what happened to Larry but now they know that they have a problem with all of those bridges and they certainly need to be checked," she said.

Leslie told us she is glad nothing worse happened and hopes the city will learn from this before a more serious injury happens.

City officials say the bridge will be evaluated within two weeks. They’ll determine if any major repairs are needed and if that’s the case, the closure would remain in place until winter.