North Carolina firefighters performed a difficult vehicle extraction Sunday after an SUV crashed through a guardrail and landed in shallow water.
The SUV apparently blew a tire around 7:30 p.m. in Vass, and the extraction involved nearly a dozen firefighters from the Southern Pines and Cypress Pointe fire and rescue departments, The Pilot reports. It took rescuers more than an hour to pull off the complex operation as small chainsaws were used to cut through the roof of the upside-vehicle, which hung just inches above a creek.
"He was in a very precarious situation," Souther Pines Chief Mike Cameron told The Pilot, adding that it was "literally the most technical kind of rescue you can get."
The driver, whose name was not released, was airlifted to the hospital, and his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.