Caledonia Argus

Construction worker dies in accident, boss is critically injured

Posted: 6/4/02

By Shannon McKinney
Argus News Reporter

Ernie Earl Engan, 19, of Eitzen had only been involved in construction for a month when he died Tuesday, May 28, 2002 from injuries he sustained in a construction accident at the Wayne Houdek farm three miles outside of Caledonia.

According to the Houston County Sheriffís Office, Engan died at the scene when a wall measuring ten feet high, about thirty feet long and eight inches thick fell on top of him.

Houston County Sheriff Mike Lee was the first at the scene and said the weight of the backfill behind the wall pushed the wall over onto Engan and Enganís boss, Kermit Meyer, 44, of Eitzen. The two were preparing to pour the floor when the wall collapsed on them.

Meyer was transported to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center by Med-Link helicopter. As of Monday, June 3, he was listed in critical condition. He reportedly has a broken femur, broken pelvis and internal injuries.

Caledonia Fire Chief Chuck Gavin estimates the wall weighed about 10 tons.

Lee said he was extremely thankful when the ambulance arrived. Including himself, there were four other people trying to pull up the wall with jacks and loaders. ìI was awful happy to see them get there because we werenít doing that much.They had the equipment and know-how to get them out,î said Lee.

It was the first time Gavin recalls ever using their special air bags to rescue someone. It was only a week before that the Caledonia Fire department had received a two hour refresher course on how to use the air bags. ìSo everybody knew what to do,î he said.

The department has had the bags since 1995, but has never had to use them.

The air bags are two inches thick and two feet long and can inflate up to 10 inches in height under the weight of between 22 to 27 tons.

Gavin estimated that about 35 emergency personnel from the fire department, Caledonia ambulance, Tri-State ambulance, Med-Link and Houston County Sheriffís Office responded to the scene.

Ernie was the sunshine

Ernieís mother, Lori Engan described her son as a jokester and, ìalways the sunshine that made us laugh.î

ìHe was always there even if it was just to make us laugh..... He came out of the shower singing,î she recalls.

Besides making people laugh, Lori said Ernie took a special interest in his 15 year-old brother, Kevin. ìHe took his brother fishing or hunting to just get him out of the house,î she said.

Ernie also has an 8-year-old sister named Allie.

Lori added that he also spent a lot of time with his girlfriend, Jennifer Houdek of Caledonia.

Ernie often talked about the upcoming Motocross race at the Houston County Fair. He loved biking and would practice on home-made jumps at home. Last year he placed second in Motocross in his division and received a trophy.

Every year he would go to the Twin Cities to watch a big motocross race there, said Lori.

Ernie had only been in construction with Kermit Meyer Construction for a month when the accident happened.

Between the ages of 14 and 16, Ernie had worked with Bob Koch on a dairy farm. He later worked on the Devoine and Linda Kruse farm.

Engan graduated from Caledonia High School in 2001 and was thinking about attending college in La Crosse this fall to become a shop teacher. Retired shop teacher Ken Eglinton had a positive impact on Ernieís life, she said.

Lori said, ìEglinton was his favorite teacher. He did a lot of side jobs on the farm with him.î

Lori said Ernie went into construction because he had wanted a change. ìIt was just something he was doing during the summer. In a way, I think he missed farming,î she said.

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