Terrified electrician stuck inside 130-foot high gas station sign for HOURS recorded goodbye message to wife and kids: ‘It was my final words’
An electrician in Illinois recorded goodbye messages to his wife and children after becoming trapped for hours inside a giant gas station sign more than 130 feet above the ground when the lift he was using malfunctioned. A.J. Gow was servicing the truck stop sign in Wilmington on 21 July with a colleague when the telescopic boom lift failed after his co-worker climbed down for water, leaving Gow stranded without water or a fan in searing heat for around four hours.
As his fear grew, Gow used his phone to record what he believed might be his final words to his family, describing it as "essentially a goodbye without saying goodbye." His rescue was complicated because local fire ladders reached only about 100 feet, short of the sign's 130-foot height, forcing responders to source a taller lift from nearby Joliet with help from Illinois State Police. Gow was eventually brought down safely and uninjured, and says he now insists on staying inside the lift bucket rather than entering signs when working at height.
- Electrician trapped 130ft up in gas station sign for hours
- Recorded goodbye messages to wife and kids, fearing the worst
- Rescued unharmed after fire crews sourced a taller lift
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A.J. Gow is an electrician who was carrying out maintenance work on a large illuminated sign at a truck stop in Wilmington, Illinois, in July 2026. He was working from a lift more than 130 feet in the air when it stopped functioning properly, leaving him trapped inside the sign structure for several hours in hot conditions with no water.
The case drew attention because of how Gow responded to the danger: believing he might not survive, he used his phone to record farewell messages to his wife and children. It also highlighted practical limits in local emergency response, since the fire service's ladders could not reach the height at which he was stranded, meaning specialist equipment had to be brought in from elsewhere to free him.
The story matters as an account of a workplace safety incident involving equipment failure at extreme height, and of the emotional toll such situations can have on those involved and their families.