A worker was freed from under a slab of concrete at a construction site behind a home in Edina, where he had been trapped Wednesday morning for about 2 1/2 hours.

The man's leg became pinned about 7:45 a.m. in a trench by a chunk of concrete 4 to 5 feet in length behind the home on Paddock Road just north of the Interlachen Country Club, said Kaylin Martin, a spokeswoman for the city.

Fire personnel removed the man on a stretcher about 10:15 a.m. and he was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

In a statement released through the hospital, the worker said that emergency personnel "did a top-notch job and made me comfortable throughout the rescue. They were absolutely professional."

The worker, whose identity has not been released, appeared conscious and alert as he was wheeled on a gurney to the ambulance, holding his head up at times.

Martin described the worker as a younger man who was part of a crew putting an addition on the home.

He became pinned after a dirt wall collapsed inside the trench, Martin said.

The concrete slab "started moving, and the other guys were able to get out of the way," she said. "It was slowly moving. It did not come crashing down."

The man works for B.O.Z. Concrete Construction in Andover, said coworker Travis Kuznia.

The crew was installing drain tile between the home and an in-ground pool, Kuznia said.

"Nothing was broke," Kuznia said of his colleague. "His left leg was pinned under there."

Along with Edina fire and police personnel, fire crews from Minneapolis, Hopkins, St. Louis Park, Bloomington and elsewhere also assisted.

The home is owned by David Luther, an executive with the Luther Auto Group. It was his late father's name, Rudy Luther, that became familiar to generations of Minnesotans in advertising for new and used cars.

Suzanne Ziegler • 612-673-1707

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482