CONTRIBUTED BY JUDY FISH
Local firefighters rescued a 16-year-old male driver Wednesday, Aug. 10 after he was trapped in his pickup truck in a sin- gle-vehicle accident, according to Lake Monticello Fire Chief Richie Constantino. The chief said he heard the teenager was on his way to school.
The Lake Monticello Fire Department, Palmyra Fire Company and Lake Monti- cello Rescue Squad were dispatched at approximately 8:22 a.m. to Ruritan Lake Road for a reported motor vehicle acci- dent with a person trapped in the vehicle, Constantino said.
Upon arrival at the scene, Constantino said he saw “a pickup truck lying on its side with extensive damage and a male trapped inside.” The victim said he was injured and could not escape from the truck because his legs, feet and lower body were trapped under the dashboard of the truck, the chief said.
Lake Monticello Engine 52 arrived on the scene and personnel immediately began to work to free the victim, the chief said.
“The vehicle was stabilized and with the use of the extrication tools, person- nel removed the roof of the pick-up truck to gain access to the victim,” Constanti- no said. “Palmyra Engine 10 and its crew arrived on the scene and together person-
nel worked to extricate the trapped victim. The victims’ condition was assessed by the firefighters who determined the victims’ legs, feet and lower torso were entangled under the dashboard which occurred during the crash,” he said.
“This was a very difficult extrication,” Constantino said. “Due to the position, condition of the vehicle and the inability to move the dashboard with the extrica- tion tools, the firefighters completed a ‘slow roll’ of the vehicle to create unfet- tered access to the dashboard and victim. Once that evolution was accomplished, the firefighters easily shifted the dash- board from the victim’s lower body from under the dashboard, brake, and gas pedals.”
The victim was removed from the vehicle and turned over to personnel from the Lake Monticello Rescue Squad and the critical care crew from the University of Virginia’s Pegasus helicopter who were requested to respond, Constantino said. The victim was flown to U.Va. hospital by Pegasus critical care crew for treatment.
Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office depu- ties also were on the scene.
