11/August/2014 – MVC with Ejection – “A” Shift

Incident # 14-04716 – An eighteen year old Maryland girl was in critical condition after being ejected from a vehicle Monday morning 11-August. At 04:26, 9-1-1 Operators began receiving calls advising of a high speed rollover accident on I-95 near the 60 mile marker south bound. Callers reported a girl had been ejected and they could not locate her. A five year old female was also reported to be trapped inside the car. Engine 26 and Medic 26 arrived minutes later to find the 2005 Chevrolet Avalanche in the woods with heavy damage. The truck had rolled over multiple times before coming to rest upright partially in a water filled ditch.  Family members had located the girl in the ditch approximately 20 feet from the truck as Emergency Crews were arriving. They were holding her head above the water. Firefighter-Paramedics found the conscious girl in about two feet of water. Crews had a few tense moments as they ran off a four foot snake from the water as they worked to immobilize and remove the girl from the ditch. There are no street lights on the rural stretch of Interstate and lighting was limited. All other members of the family were able to get out of the truck. No one was found to be trapped. Two additional ambulances were assigned to the incident. The remaining patients suffered non-life threatening multiple traumatic injuries and were transported to Colleton Medical Center.

The ejected patient was stabilized at CMC and later transferred by ambulance to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. No helicopters could fly due to poor weather conditions. It appeared the vehicle had been traveling southbound on I-95 when it left the right shoulder. The truck over-corrected, re-entered the highway, but skidded sideways before over-turning multiple times as it rolled down the embankment into the woods. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

Engine 26, Medic 1, Medic 19, Medic 26, Rescue 1, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as Incident Commander.