16/November/2018 – MVC with entrapment & Air Evac – “C” Shift

Incident # 18-07992 – A 17 year old female miraculously survived a high speed MVC in the 600 block of Ritter Road Friday afternoon 16-November. The accident was reported at 16:13. The east bound Ford Explorer left the roadway on the west bound side of the road and struck a tree causing massive damage to the small SUV. The driver’s side “A” post was pushed against the “B” post trapping the young driver in the wreckage between the dash and seat. She was wearing a seatbelt, which contributed to saving her life. With only a few inches of space inside the car, the patient suffered life threatening multiple traumatic injuries. Firefighter-Paramedics treated the young woman during the extrication which included IVs, oxygen and medications for pain management. Other crewmembers worked for 40 minutes using Holmatro Rescue Tools to extricate the patient. The vehicle was stabilized using the winch on Rescue 1 and the dash was pulled off of the patient with chains rigged from another tree and pulled with a hydraulic spreader. Another set of rescue tools were used to remove the driver and passenger doors, then the “B” post was cut away. The patient was removed with full spinal precautions and placed in Fire-Rescue Medic 6. The C.A.R.E. Flight medical helicopter was requested and landed in a nearby field. The Flight crew was brought to the scene to assist with patient care. Medic 6 transported her emergent to the field, then C.A.R.E. Flight flew her to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the accident.

Engine 6, Engine 27, Medic 6, Rescue 1, Car 27, Car 107, Car 110 and Car 112 responded. Deputy Chief David Greene  served as Incident Commander.