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Photos by Bob Bartosz, Nash County (NC) Fire Photographer
Story by Captain John Miller, Battleboro (NC) Fire Department
Shortly before 3 p.m. on September 19, 2016, Nash County (NC) Battleboro Volunteer Fire Department (Station 9) and Edgecombe County Rescue Squad (Station 5 and Station 3) were dispatched for a motor vehicle collision on Battleboro-Leggett Road in Edgecombe County, North Carolina.
Battleboro Unit 9 (Fire Chief Eddie Hardee, Jr.) arrived on scene first and established command. He found a pickup truck with heavy damaged and a four-door car with a woman pinned from the “T-bone” accident. He found that one driver was trapped in her car from the damage to the driver’s side The pickup had heavy damage to the front end. The driver’s leg and knee being pinned under the dashboard.
Engine 9 arrived on scene and immediately pulled a 1 3/4-inch line for a protection line and then deployed their extrication tools. Engine 91 arrived on scene with additional members of the department. Extrication was initiated on the pickup with the patient being pinned. Chief Hardee put in a special call for Whitakers Fire Department (Station 10) to be dispatched to the scene to assist Station 9.
Whitakers responded with their squad truck. They handled the door removal for EMS units to free the woman who was pinned in the car.
Battleboro worked on extricating the patient in the pickup. It was determined that a dash roll would be required in order to free the patients knee which had been jammed upwards into the dash during the collision. One of the patient’s legs extended out the door of the vehiclem, making it difficult to make relief cuts. The extent of the damage to the front of the vehicle made it difficult to find anchor points or to make relief cuts.
The weather was also a factor, along with bad thunderstorm conditions. Two bolts of lightning struck very close to the nearby crews while they were extricating the patients.
It took a total of 45 minutes to extricate the patient from the truck and 20 minutes for the car victim. Both patients were treated and transported by EMS to the hospital. Chief Hardee said that all 20 personnel on scene worked quickly, efficiently, and displayed exceptional teamwork and cooperation during the incident. Police on location said that both victims were not wearing their seat belts. The accident is still under investigation by the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
