Cell Phone Leads North Carolina Crews to Trapped Woman
GASTONIA, N.C. --
A cell phone may have saved a Gastonia woman??s life after she became trapped under her own pickup truck in a rural area.
Rescue crews said 45-year-old Kesley Pease had taken her dog, Rocky, out to play in a secluded field near Robinwood Lake and her vehicle got stuck in the mud. She tried to push it free herself, and ended up with one leg crushed under the front tire and the other out in front of her, trapping her in a split position.
Pease was able to reach her cell phone and dial 911.
"I'm on my cell phone. Please get somebody out here. It's Robinwood Lake," she said, the pain obvious in her voice. "Miss, I'm under my truck. I'm trapped. I ran over my leg and I can't get out from under my truck. It's still running."
Jim Landis with the Gastonia Fire Department said she stayed on the phone and directed rescuers to her remote location. Then firefighters used hydrolic bags to lift the 1,500-pound truck off of her leg.
Pease was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center.
According to paramedics, if Pease had not had her cell phone she might not have been found in time.
??She could have laid out there for hours, maybe even days in the area she was at and not been found,?? said Tim Jones, assistant operations supervisor for Gaston Emergency Medical Services.
With the cold weather and rain expected Thursday night, hypothermia may have set in and Pease could have died, Jones said.
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