Man reportedly charging his phone takes 80-foot tumble at Save Mart Center in Fresno

A Fresno Fire Department rescue team carried a man from the bottom of an 80-foot embankment Thursday morning after the victim tumbled off the ledge while charging his cell phone.

Officials said the victim appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance at the time of the accident. The man, of unknown age, was taken to a hospital for an evaluation of his injuries.

Battalion Chief Dan O’Meara said it wasn’t known how long the victim lay at the bottom of the embankment after the fall. Fresno State police officers earlier noticed him charging his phone at an outside electrical outlet at the center. Some time later, he was found after slipping off the steep hill and tumbling down the embankment, where he slammed into a fence next to the center’s massive heating and cooling equipment.

The rescue team placed the victim in a gurney and used power from a fire truck to pull him back to the top of the ledge, where he was loaded into an ambulance.

This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 9:53 AM.