A man who survived a devastating workplace accident has shared a photo to illustrate the severity of the incident after some questioned how it actually occurred.
Loren Schauers, who was just 18 at the time, was working on a remote construction site in Montana in September 2019 when tragedy struck.
While operating a forklift, the vehicle veered off a bridge, plummeting 50 feet to the ground below.
The fall left him trapped beneath the massive machine, forcing doctors to amputate everything below his waist in a desperate, life-saving procedure.
He’s previously opened up about how his friends reacted to his accident, opened up about the intimate details of his life, and shared photos from the tragedy.
Now, Loren is sharing evidence with those who doubt his story…
Despite the unimaginable circumstances, Loren has embraced his new reality and chosen to live his life to the fullest.
He has since gained a substantial online following, using social media to share his experiences and inspire others.
Alongside his wife, Sabia, Loren runs a YouTube channel, ‘Sabia and Loren,’ which has amassed over 600,000 subscribers.
The couple frequently answers questions about Loren’s accident and life post-injury, shedding light on the challenges and triumphs they have faced.
In a video uploaded in 2021, Loren and Sabia sat down for an interview with her father, where they addressed some misconceptions about the accident.
One recurring question from viewers pertained to the size of the forklift involved.
Many expressed doubt that such a catastrophic injury could result from what they imagined to be a small machine, prompting an irritated response from Loren.
To clarify, the couple provided specific details about the forklift’s size and capabilities.
Loren explained: “What the machine really was, was a 10K Gradall forklift, it had full movement of left or right, had a tilt system, it was a pretty big forklift.”
Given the ongoing skepticism, Sabia later edited a photo of the actual machine into the video to further illustrate its massive scale.
Sabia’s father emphasized how the public often envisions smaller warehouse forklifts, which are much lighter and more compact.
He pointed out: “Everybody thinks about the warehouse little drive-around (forklift) that just scraps balance here and there.”
However, the machine that fell on Loren was anything but small.
The Gradall forklift in question had an operating weight of 30,000 pounds (13,600 kg), a transport length of 27 feet (8.2 m), a transport height of 12 feet (3.7 m), and a width of 8.5 feet (2.6 m).
With an extended boom designed to lift heavy materials, it was an undeniably powerful and weighty piece of equipment.
Describing its impact, Sabia’s father compared the machine’s weight to ‘half a semi coming down on you.’
Sabia added that the only equipment on-site capable of lifting the fallen forklift was their excavator, highlighting just how substantial the machine truly was.
