A 63-year-old Islandton man was severely injured in a single-car, high speed MVC in the 1200 block of Ashton Road in western Colleton County (SC) Saturday evening 13-February. At 20:53, a Station 15 firefighter radioed in to dispatch that a vehicle had struck a tree and the driver was trapped. The northbound Ford Escape failed to negotiate a curve and ran head-on into a large pine tree in front of the firefighter’s residence. He began rendering aid until Colleton County Fire-Rescue units arrived.
The driver was pinned in the wreckage between the dashboard, steering wheel, and driver’s seat, as well as his legs when the floor buckled. The passenger side dash was pushed into the front passenger seat, displacing the seat. Crews began treating the man during the extrication which lasted approximately 20 minutes. Firefighters used Holmatro rescue tools to remove the driver’s rear door and “B” post, then displace the dash to extricate the man. He was transported from the scene in Fire-Rescue Medic 13 to a nearby field, transferred to LifeNet 4 and flown to the Trauma Center at MUSC in Charleston. Traffic on Ashton Road near Gibson was blocked for 1-1/2 hours. The SC Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Engine 15, Tender 15, Rescue 1, Medic 13, Medic 26, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Captain Matthew Owens Williams, Jr. served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo
Barry W. McRoy photo