08/25/2011 – MVC with entrapment & air evacuation – “C” Shift

Incident # 11-04639 – A head-on collision resulted in four people being injured, one critically, Thursday afternoon 25-August at 13:09. A full-sized Dodge Pickup truck, towing a small trailer collided with a Hyunda Elantra on ACE Basin Parkway (US Highway 17) at the intersection of Hickory Hill Road. The driver of the Elantra received critical injuries and was trapped in the wreckage. All three passengers in the pickup truck were ambulatory when responders arrived. Two additional Medic Units were assigned to the incident and a medical helicopter also responded. Firefighter-Paramedics used two sets of Holmatro Rescue Tools to force open the driver’s door and flap the roof on the Elantra. The male driver was treated during the extraction which included IV fluids and bleeding control. He was extricated with full spinal precautions and moved to Medic 6.

Engine 25 set up a landing zone approximately a mile south of the scene on a four lane section of ACE Basin Parkway. Lifenet 4 made a scene landing on the highway. The roadway was already closed due to the accident, resulting in traffic backing up for several miles in both directions for approximately an hour. Medic 6 transported the man to the LZ and transferred the patient to the helicopter. He was flown to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. Medic 1 and Medic 9 transported the other three patients to Colleton Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.