'He's lucky': Intoxicated man impaled by fence after fall from hot tub

Police say a man is lucky to be alive after he was impaled by a fence post after falling from a hot tub in Golden Valley Saturday night.

The man, who police say had been drinking, was sitting on the edge of a hot tub on the upper level of a home on Sumter Avenue South when he fell to the lower level and landed on a fence post, impaling his thigh, WCCO reports.

Firefighters "cut the piece that was impaled and that went with the person to the hospital. The doctors remove it at that point," Golden Valley police Sgt. David Born told the Star Tribune.

The man, who hasn't been identified, is believed to be in his 20s or early 30s. He was conscious and talking at the scene, WCCO notes.

An update on his condition was not available Sunday morning, Born told BringMeTheNews.

Born said the man is "lucky," noting the incident could have been a lot worse had the fence post hit an artery or had gone through his abdomen or chest, reports note.

He also said this was preventable – he and others at the home were drinking at the time, the Star Tribune says.