LEHIGH COUNTY, PA – At 17:24 on Thursday, November 3, Lehigh County 9-1-1 dispatched Station 16 (Neffs) and EMS Station 67 (Northern Valley) with North Whitehall Rescue 2241 to 5970 Glencrest Road in Washington Township for a motor vehicle accident with rescue.
Chief 2202 went responding and was advised that a caller stated a car traveled off the road and into the basement of a burnt out barn. The caller was unsure when it happened, stating it may have happened overnight and one person was still in the vehicle. A second call reported a female trapped in the vehicle and barely conscious.
Chief 1603 arrived on scene and established Glencrest command. Command had one vehicle standing on its nose with the roof against a wall with one female trapped. Engine 1611 was directed into the right side of the driveway while the rescue was directed to the left side.
The engine company stretched a protection line and other personnel began assessing the patient. The rescue company arrived and began to stabilize the vehicle. EMS arrived and after a rapid assessment and predicting a lengthy extrication, a medical helicopter was requested to transport the patient.
Rescue personnel used stabilization struts and chains to stabilize the vehicle. Once secured, the Hurst Maverick tool was used to open the driver’s door. A backboard was brought in and the patient was finally extricated at 17:56.
As the patient was being removed from the vehicle, PennStar 5 was landing in a field directly next to the scene. The EMS crew received the patient and moved her directly to the PennStar litter. The patient was quickly loaded and transported to a trauma center.
Upon further investigation, the vehicle appeared to travel off the road and through a patch of grass before going into the air and traveling into the basement. It was estimated that the vehicle traveled over 35 yards through the air before landing.
Fire personnel remained on scene for over an hour while the Pennsylvania State Police investigated the accident and the vehicle was removed.
