One bone-chilling-55°F day in 1996, Mike Maher had an accident he'd never forget. Maher, working for Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Railroad Co., went out in a crane to fix a derailed ore car on snow-covered railroad tracks. Coworkers trudged along ahead of him in a grader to help the crane maneuver itself in the harsh Minnesota snowstorm. Two workers then hooked a 20-foot chain from the rear of the grader to the front of the crane to make the job easier.
Snapping like a rubber band, the alloy chain crashed through the crane's windshield, striking Maher in the head. The chain hit his safety glasses-popping out the right lens and pulling the glasses off of his face-then bounced off of his head, and flew out the rear window.