Forklift elevates pickup off cyclist. Photo: Mesa Fire and Medical Department

Equipment operator Timothy Allgood utilised the capability of a propane-powered Toyota forklift to elevate a pickup truck under which a bicyclist was trapped on 6 August.

Allgood witnessed the accident on Mesa's Main Street and says, "I saw a situation. The best thing I could do was to offer my services to assist the fire department to take the vehicle off the person."

The City of Mesa recognised Allgood during a Good Samaritan ceremony on 26 September. John Pombier, deputy city manager, says Allgood was "recognised for his quick thinking and his amazing actions on that day to render lift-saving support".

The pickup struck the man in the roadway as the truck was leaving the premises of recreational vehicle dealer Robert Crist and Co RV, Allgood's employer for about eight years.

"After being struck, the patient was trapped and sandwiched between the asphalt and the truck with the bike wedged between him and the truck's bottom," says Capt Forrest Smith, public information officer with the Mesa fire and medical department. "The forklift lifted the pickup off of the patient prior to fire paramedics' arrival."