At around 1:15 AM on Thursday, April 30th, Cherry Hill Firefighters and EMTs were called to Route 295 for a reported motor vehicle accident involving a tractor trailer. Multiple units respond automatically to the highway to cover the north and south bound lanes more efficiently. First arriving units reported an overturned tractor trailer on the southbound exit ramp for Exit 31 (Woodcrest Station). Firefighters quickly stabilized the vehicle with heavy equipment and a winch while EMTs & Paramedics assessed the sole patient.
The driver had become pinned in the overturned cab by the steering wheel and needed to be cut free by a firefighter who squeezed himself into the crushed cab via the windshield opening and used hydraulic rescue tools to cut the steering wheel. Simultaneously, other firefighters used similar tools and power saws to cut the crushed cab open so that, once free, the patient could be easily removed. The operation took about an hour and the patient was transported to a local trauma center. This accident is under investigation by the NJ State Police.
