The flow of traffic was heavy in the 9500 block of Jefferson Davis Highway in Chesterfield County on Sept.11 around 3:30 p.m. as two vehicles collided causing heavy damage to one.
Tones sounded dispatching Engine 3 and Bensley-Bermuda Volunteer Rescue Squad Unit 521 along with county police.
Sirens wailed and red lights flashed as rescuers shifted into high gear. Crews reported occupants were trapped and injuries. Assessment revealed the driver's side air bag had not deployed.
Command requested Truck 3 and they were dispatched.
Medics monitored the victims and engine crews stretched a hand line in case fire erupted. The truck company quickly gathered the tools of the rescue trade, cutters and spreaders. The whirring sound of the hydraulic tools soon filled the air.
Onlookers lined the streets, and county police monitored traffic and interviewed witnesses.
Because of the type of vehicle, the hinges at the front of the door needed to be cut opposite the handle end. When the cutters did their work, the door popped, still wedged. Firefighters teamed up, peeled the door back and removed it from the vehicle.
The victims who were in the back seat were then removed. One was injured and he was back-boarded and packaged loaded into the Bensley-Bermuda ambulance and transported to a local hospital.
The job was not yet done. After patient removal, crews once again used the spreaders to remove the crumpled and jammed car body from pressing on the tires.
Police have not said if charges will be filed. The patient's condition has not been released.
