A man became impaled while climbing a fence Tuesday morning near Highway 101.
San Francisco Fire Department officers responded just after 9 a.m. to reports of a traumatic injury in Potrero Hill. A man in his 40s had “impaled himself somewhere in the groin area” while trying to get over a spike-tipped fence near the intersection of Kansas and 22nd streets, Fire Department spokesperson Mariano Elias said.
Elias said the Heavy Rescue team decided to cut the fence, rather than remove the man from it. While they were lowering the man, the cut piece of metal fence fell from the wound. Paramedics wrapped the wound and transported the man to San Francisco General Hospital.
A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said the man was trying to get to an encampment near the freeway, noting that it wasn’t the first time someone had gotten stuck on that fence. The neighbor told The Standard they saw the man passing out on the fence and that paramedics hooked him up to IV fluids.
“We have been complaining about people living behind the wall for so long,” the neighbor said in an email.
Elias said he could not confirm if the man was homeless.
Numerous 311 reports, including one from five years ago, describe encampments near the intersection.
“Now we have a broken fence again, broken door and remaining metal pieces of the fence with blood on it,” the neighbor said.
The San Francisco Police Department confirmed the incident. Officials were unable to provide an update on the status of the injured man.