Glenn Harper was impaled by jagged old rebar in the wall at Pleasure Point. Photos: Shmuel Thaler/Santa Cruz Sentinel/Richard Alexander
Last October, a man named Glenn Harper was impaled at Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz. Now he’s suing, and he’s suing for a lot: $10 million.
Harper, a 54-year-old father of two, was climbing down the stairs in the seawall at the Pleasure Point when he was hit by a wave. In attempt to keep his balance, he put his hand on the wall and jammed it directly into a piece of old rebar, getting his leash tangled in the process. Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Harper cut his other hand while trying to get the impaled hand off the rebar so badly it required almost fifty stitches.
Luckily, Eric Johnson, a former EMT, happened to close by. When he saw what was happening, he rushed to help out. Along with a friend, they pulled Harper off the the spike and untangled his leash. He was taken to hospital by helicopter.
Now, seven months later, Harper’s hand is a mess. He’s undergone numerous surgeries, but according to reports, his hand will never be the same. “Right now, he can’t grip. He can’t extend his hand,” said Richard Alexander, Harper’s attorney, to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. “He suffered a major lifetime injury. The spikes were a trap that easily could have been made safe.”
Harper isn’t limiting his suit to the Santa Cruz. As well as the county of Santa Cruz, he’s suinga Watsonville engineering firm called Haro Kasunich and Associates Inc, the California Coastal Commission, and the State Lands Commission–at least one of which will probably pony up.
Just a few days after Harper was impaled, residents took it upon themselves to cut the rebar off. Back in 2011, Santa Cruz spent almost $10 million on reinforcing the seawall. Since then, the rebar in the wall has been exposed. Harper and Alexander both agree that something should have been done years ago. “Whenever it is foreseeable that someone might be injured,” said Alexander, “you have a responsibility to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
