A Yuba City man was upgraded to serious condition Friday after a drilling accident at a natural gas well in Meridian.

William Stanley, 30, had his femur broken in multiple places and his hip broken Thursday after getting wrapped in a steel cable when another worker slipped and landed on the controls of a sand-cable mechanism being used to purge water from the tubes of the well.

Stanley was awake in the trauma intensive care unit of Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

He said he remembered climbing up on a spool to get to the sand where he was going to work. This maintenance was routine for him and would take place once or twice a week, he said.

Then the machine started.

“I got sucked in and started screaming for them to shut off the machine,” Stanley said. “If it were a little bit further down, I wouldn’t be here today.”

He declined to futher comment because of a possible investigation by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Though he can’t work and is currently looking at more time in the hospital, Stanley said he is thankful that he’s able to tell his story.

“I’m still alive, that’s the good thing,” he said.

Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/stanley-53129-machine-worker.html#ixzz1sMpdLOkS