WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — A man who was rushed to the hospital after being impaled by a 50-foot pipe at an oil field on Thursday is out of surgery, according to family members.
According to Wichita County Sheriff David Duke, just after 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 16, 2023, multiple agencies responded to reports of an injury accident at an oil field off of Highway 25, between Electra and Kamay in Wichita County.
Sheriff Duke said once first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered a Hispanic male, later identified as Felipe Carrillo, who had been impaled with a pipe. He said the pipe struck Carrillo’s shoulder and exited below the belt.
According to Sheriff Duke, the pipe went three feet into the ground after impaling Carrillo and about 40 feet of pipe was still above him. Rescuers on the scene cut much of the pipe away, but Carrillo was still unable to fit into an Air Evac ambulance.
Carrillo was then transported by AMR to the hospital with about two feet of pipe still inside of him. Somehow, the pipe didn’t hit any of Carrillo’s major organs or bones.
Chelsey Carillo, Felipe’s wife, said her husband’s surgeon expects muscle damage to be the only complication as a result of the incident.
Chelsey said just after 9 p.m. on Thursday that her husband was out of surgery and doing well. She gave an update on her husband’s condition in a Facebook post made on Friday morning.
“No broken bones, no organ damage. He’s gotten up this morning and took a couple of steps to a chair and he’s sitting straight up currently,” Chelsey said. “He’s continuing to take strides in his recovery.”
The incident is still under investigation, though authorities have ruled it an accident.
The way Chelsey Carrillo sees it, her husband’s miraculous survival and progressing recovery from what could have been a tragedy is no accident at all.
“A thousand percent, he’s still here with us only by the grace of God,” Carillo said.
Read More: Oil field worker recovering after being impaled by 50-foot pipe