Exclusive: Man On "Flakka" Impaled While Trying To Climb Fence
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- For the second time in two months the dangerous new drug Flakka took center stage at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Last month, someone was trying to break down the front door of the police department. He told police he was high on Flakka.
On Sunday, a man told police he just smoked Flakka before being impaled while trying to scale the fence around the department.
It's tough to look at surveillance video that captured Shanard Neely making a run for the spiked fence surrounding the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Click here to watch Ted Scouten's story.
And here's where you cringe. He tried to scale the fence but didn't make it! He was impaled by a foot long spike.
"He was just dangling there," said Asst. Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Tim Heiser. "There was no way he could have gotten off. It was too high up and nothing to actually leverage himself with."
Lucky for him, a Fort Lauderdale fire truck was already there gassing up and moments behind it was the tactical response team arrived with a big job ahead of them.
"His one leg was through here," Fort Lauderdale Fire Tactical Response Lt. Rick Pardo points out on the fence. "The other leg was over here somewhere and his entire upper body was on the opposite side of the fence."
That spike went all the way through, entering in his thigh near the crotch, exiting on the other side, through the buttocks.
It was a daring rescue using circular saws to cut away the fence. During the rescue, Neely had to remain perfectly still so he didn't slit an artery and possibly bleed out.
With sparks flying around him, rescuers had him propped up using ladders and a back board, while cutting around him.
Fire rescue captured the moment he was freed on video.
"Nice and easy boys," we hear someone say. Then the critical moment when he was freed and moved to the stretcher. With the spike still in him, Neely was rushed to Broward Health. Rescuers went in to the emergency room to help doctors cut away everything but the spike.
Despite dangling on a fence for more than 20 minutes, Pardo said Neely was one very fortunate guy. If that spike went in just a little to the left or right, this could have had a very different ending.
"It could have went in and he could have bled out and it could have been really bad. He was definitely lucky," Pardo said.
Neely remains at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale where he is recovering from surgery. He is also there for a psychological evaluation.