'It's pretty gruesome in here': Chilling 911 call of recycling plant employee whose leg was ripped off and who now helps other amputees adapt to living without a limb

John Maynard had his leg cut off by a baler three years ago

Since then he has learned to walk with a prosthetic and launched a YouTube channel to help others that has lost limbs

He has posted audio of his 911 call from the night of his accident

He has also revealed that he is still in contact with the three responders he spoke to that night

A young man who lost his leg three years ago in an accident at a recycling plant has posted a recording of his 911 call online as part of his on-going commitment to helping other amputees adapt to living without a limb.



John Maynard was 20 years old when his leg got cut off by a baler at the Taft Recycling Plant where he worked in Orlando, Florida.



The harrowing 911 call features Maynard speaking to emergency services in the vital minutes after his leg had been ripped off.

Listen to the call below

John Maynard was 20 years old when his leg got cut off by a baler at the Taft Recycling Plant where he worked in Orlando, Florida

In its entirety his call to the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Orange County Fire Department lasts over 11 minutes and features him having to explain several times what has happened to him and where he is located.



'This is not a joke. I'm... gonna die. I'm gonna bleed to death I'm afraid. Please help me ,' he tells the dispatcher.



Later he asks the 911 operator to phone his mom.

'My mother is gonna... Ha Ha... I'm gonna die from this. My mother is gonna kill me,' he says, sounding quite delirious.



Fearing he may be about to die he tells the dispatchers that he loves him and asks him to pray with him . Then he remembers his step-dad.

'I forgot about my dad. My, my step-dad he adopted me. Please tell him I love him.'

Since learning to walk with a prosthetic he has been rock climbing and also got married



'It's pretty gruesome in here. I'm not gonna lie to you,' he then confesses.



Overall Maynard managed to stay remarkably calm during the ordeal considering he was alone and had just lost a limb.

‘I am very pleased with the job they did keeping me alert and responsive,’ writes Maynard, who has stayed in contact with all three of the people in the audio, including the responding officer who found him.



The incident happened on July 9, 2010 when Maynard was working the night shift.



When the baling machine jammed, he unclogging it but before he could get out it started up again and the compacting ram began moving towards him.



Maynard managed to pull himself out of the way of the moving ram, by lifting his body up but unfortunately his right boot was not up far enough and the ram caught his boot.



The incident occurred at the Taft Recycling Plant where Maynard worked in Orlando, Florida

‘It [the bailer] pulled my leg closer and closer to the teeth, until it disappeared out of sight,’ writes Maynard about his experience.



‘Suddenly a splitting pain shot up my leg as I felt my foot get crushed all the way up to my shin. At this point, my leg became severed. I pulled myself up and out of the machine.’



It was at that stage that he called 911 and experienced what he describes as the ‘longest 16 minutes of my life’ as he fought to stay alive long enough for the emergency services to find him.



In hospital later he had his leg amputated six inches below his knee and learned to walk with a prosthetic.



Now he runs, rock climbs and does as much as he can to help others who have also lost limbs.

The incident happened on July 9, 2010 when Maynard was working the night shift



He initially launched his YouTube channel – crew9t – as a coping mechanism, but says it has since grown to be a lot more.



The channel is his way of interacting with and helping to guide new and recent amputees, as well as older amputees who still need help, and anybody who is interested in learning more about amputees and their our way of life.



‘My accident has changed my outlook toward the world, and I feel that my goals and even my way of thinking have changed too,’ writes Maynard who has also got married since the incident.



'My goal now is to help encourage other amputees to continue on with their lives. Just because you lose a limb does not mean that you should lose your life.



'I want to show any amputees struggling with their situation that life does go on, and it can be better than you ever could have imagined.’

Just because you lose a limb does not mean that you should lose your life says John Maynard





