{"id":5237,"date":"2026-07-24T09:36:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:36:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5237"},"modified":"2026-07-24T09:36:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:36:29","slug":"illinois-worker-trapped-inside-130-foot-tall-gas-station-sign-for-nearly-7-hours-but-still-manages-to-give-thumbs-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5237","title":{"rendered":"Illinois worker trapped inside 130-foot-tall gas station sign for nearly 7 hours \u2014 but still manages to give thumbs up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An Illinois maintenance worker was trapped inside a 130-foot-tall gas station sign for around six-and-a-half hours \u2013 but still managed to give a thumbs-up despite the mishap.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Sorry, haters, Christopher Nolan\u2019s Odysseus is no wimp \u2014 but a hero for our times<\/a><\/p>\n

The man was left stranded when his lift malfunctioned while he was carrying out work on the sign, located off Interstate 55 in Wilmington on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

He ran into difficulty just before 11 a.m. and fire crews rushed to the scene around three hours later, according to Wilmington fire officials. <\/p>\n

But the fire crews were equipped with ladders that were 100 feet tall, which prevented rescuers from reaching the worker who was sheltered in the narrow space.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo ladders or stairs built into the sign pole were present, eliminating the possibility of rescue team personnel ascending to the victim\u2019s location as would normally occur in a high angle rescue,\u201d fire officials said.<\/p>\n

Rescuers found a specialized lift in Joliet \u2013 around 17 miles away \u2013 and brought it to the scene so the worker could be brought to safety.<\/p>\n

The dramatic rescue went viral online. A man who claimed to be the maintenance worker and identified himself as \u201cAJ\u201d praised fire officials for saving the day amid the flurry of reaction.<\/p>\n

Read more Hundreds of Howard University freshmen unenrolled over unpaid bills weeks before fall semester<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to every department that showed up for me today,\u201d AJ commented on Wilmington Fire\u2019s Facebook page. \u201cIt was greatly appreciated! Seeing that lift roll up with police escorts was the highlight of my day for sure!!\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ shared a photo of himself standing on a platform inside the sign, telling one pal, \u201cI was up there on this. Couldn\u2019t fully stand either and it kept swaying with the wind. It was miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was up there for about 6 1\/2 hours [in] total,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said there was nowhere to sit comfortably inside the confined space.<\/p>\n

Fire crews said the maintenance worker wasn\u2019t injured \u2013 but AJ said he was suffering from symptoms of severe dehydration, which sparked his co-worker to call for the rescue, before he was transported to a hospital. <\/p>\n

He has since changed his profile picture of himself giving a thumbs up to the WLS helicopter \u201cChopper 7,\u201d which hovered over the scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe news coverage at the end of the ordeal made it seem like it was a joyride,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMy adrenaline was pumping once I saw that lift arriving and [it] gave me a 2nd wind. After the adrenaline crash, I felt like crap all night and still do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Mamdani and Ms. Rachel built their brands on war \u2014 and business is booming<\/a><\/p>\n

The Post has reached out to Gow for comment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A maintenance worker was left trapped inside a 130-foot-tall Illinois gas station sign \u2013 but still managed to give a thumbs up despite the mishap.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nIllinois worker trapped inside 130-foot-tall gas station sign for nearly 7 hours \u2014 but still manages to give thumbs up - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5237\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois worker trapped inside 130-foot-tall gas station sign for nearly 7 hours \u2014 but still manages to give thumbs up - 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