Man sitting on Fort Lauderdale bus bench crushed by steel beams

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man sitting on a bus bench suffered critical injuries Tuesday when a pile of steel beams and pipes fell off a flatbed truck and crushed him.

The truck was turning at an intersection when its load fell off around 6:45 a.m., officials said. Rescue workers gave the pinned man an IV to keep him hydrated while they tried to free him. They used lumber and jacks for leverage to lift the steel and were able to get him out a little more than an hour later.

He was flown to Broward General Medical Center on a helicopter. Initial reports said the man suffered injuries to his right arm, hip, chest and leg and may have internal injuries. He was later reported in critical condition. He was not immediately identified.

A second victim was struck by the beams and pipes, but his injuries were not life threatening.

I seem to read news of this sort of stuff a lot. I’m more than a little paranoid about benches on corners.

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Three accused in Fort Lauderdale of ‘leasing’ illegal workers

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Three natives of Poland were arrested Tuesday for allegedly leasing out illegal immigrants from eastern Europe to work on farms, dairies and factories in the Midwest and Southeast United States.

A 26-count indictment accuses Jaroslaw Sawczuk, 37, Jozef Bronislaw Bogacki, 42, and Pavel Preus, 38, of providing American companies with more than 550 unauthorized workers from various countries including Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland.

The workers entered the U.S. on tourist visas as part of an employee-leasing ring that began in 1995, said the federal grand jury indictment, which was unsealed in Fort Lauderdale.

Sawczuk is a Polish citizen. Bogacki is from Poland, but has become a U.S. citizen and lives in Clearwater, where he was arrested. Preus is Polish and lives in Pompano Beach.

The indictment also names Lucia Kanis, 30, from Slovakia, Ivan Kanis, 38, who lives in his native Slovakia and Andor Pikali, 36, a Slovakian who had been living in Coral Springs. They were not found by authorities.

According to the indictment the defendants allegedly did not pay payroll taxes and worker’s compensation deductions. They allegedly did not pay $6 million in payroll taxes and laundered $20 million.

The charges against them include conspiracies to commit visa fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and tax fraud. If convicted they face maximum prison terms of 20 years and fine up to $500,000. The government is also seeking the forfeiture of their assets.

Sawczuck, Bogacki and Preus are all in custody awaiting bond hearings.

Attorney Adam Allen, representing Bogacki, said he did not know enough about the case to comment. The federal public defender said he will be working on the case only until Bogacki is goes to Fort Lauderdale for the trial.

Jared Bossola, Preus’ lawyer said it was too early to comment, but that his client would “definitely deny all charges.”

Sawczuk’s attorney, James Garbett, was not immediately available for comment.

“These defendants allegedly abused our immigration laws and defrauded the United States , all in an attempt to enrich themselves by exploiting vulnerable foreigners,” said Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division.