Fire Crews, Crane Operator Rescue Injured Worker

Two dozen firefighters and a barge crane operator rescued an ironworker who was stranded on a Terminal Island bridge Wednesday after he was struck in the head by a 7-pound pry bar that dropped 10 feet from a co-worker’s belt.

Tom Celeze, 29, of Pico Rivera, had been helping install the new Badger Avenue Bridge when the tool hit him about 9:15 a.m., said a spokeswoman for the Port of Los Angeles, which is paying for the $49-million project. She added that Celeze was wearing a safety helmet when he was hit.

Although Celeze did not lose consciousness, rescuers decided to bring him down from his work area 100 feet above the Cerritos Channel by using a basket attached to a crane aboard a barge, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said. Celeze was treated for minor neck and back injuries and released from Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.