Man falls from hot tub at Golden Valley 'party house,' is impaled on fence post

An intoxicated man fell from the side of a hot tub outside a Golden Valley home and onto a fence post, impaling his thigh, authorities said Sunday.

Firefighters had to cut the post to free the 30-year-old so he could be sent to the hospital with part of the wrought iron-style post still in his leg, according to police.

The incident occurred about 11:35 p.m. Saturday behind a home in the 800 block of Sumter Avenue S., said police Sgt. Dave Born. The hot tub sits on a deck, with the fence below surrounding an in-ground pool.

The man was taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale, and his condition was not immediately known. Authorities have yet to release his identity.

"He's lucky the post didn't go right through his abdomen or right through his chest," Born said. "The whole thing was preventable," he added, noting that the man and others with him were drinking at the time.

Born said the man landed on the post where the fence ends. Firefighters "cut the piece that was impaled and that went with the person to the hospital. The doctors remove it at that point."

The man was conscious the whole time, but "just in pain," Born added.

Almost every weekend "there's something going on there," said the neighbor, who added that three young men live at home, which also has a fire pit out back. "It's quite the party house."

The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said she's discovered people from that home's back yard on her property.

She's also found beer cans from that home in her yard.

"I have never called the police, but I know my neighbors have many times," said the neighbor, who has lived on that block for more than 10 years and whose characterization of the house was echoed by another neighbor Sunday. "Even in the winter, when there's an event, like the Super Bowl, there's a party."

Born confirmed police have been called to the home multiple times before Saturday night's incident; there have been two "loud party" calls in the past four months.