Firefighters from the Washington Township (Mercer County)
Fire Department responded to their third entrapment call on the
New Jersey Turnpike in less than two weeks.
At 1:33PM on Thursday March 23, 2006, a New Jersey State
Trooper on routine patrol reported an overturned "bobtail" (a
tractor running without its trailer) at milepost 64.0 Southbound
with entrapment.
Firefighters from the Washington Township Fire Department
along with Mercer County paramedics were dispatched at 1:38 PM
and arrived to find the driver trapped in his truck which was
overturned and lying on the driver's side in the gully.
Firefighters went to work to free the diver whose legs were
pinned by the steering wheel and dash. The vehicle was
stabilized with two "Junkyard Dog" struts. The extrication
required flapping the roof and cutting the steering wheel.
Firefighters then used two rams to push the dash off the
driver's legs.
The extrication was completed 23 minutes after arriving on
scene. Department Chief Kevin Brink requested two additional
units from Hightstown and Allentown Fire Departments to assist
at the scene with manpower, however the extrication was
completed by Washington Township personnel within minutes of the
arrival of mutual aid companies.
The Driver was transported to Capital Health System at Fuld
Trauma Center in Trenton by Washington Township Fire Department
ambulance.
