Indianapolis, IN - September 2016
Two men were hospitalized in critical condition after slamming into the rear end of a stopped semi on I65. The Semi driver told firefighters that he was headed southbound on I65 and had slowed to a stop after two other vehicles collided in a fender bender on the interstate. The two car PI which happened minutes earlier began to slow traffic as vehicles moved to avoid the wreck and the 2 drivers who pulled to the far inside.
The semi driver told firefighters he was sitting still when the men in the Berger Hargis dump truck hit him from behind – crushing their cab underneath his semi-trailer. IFD crews arrived to find the two vehicles connected and the two men severely pinned underneath. Tactical Crews explored several options for removing the men but limited overhead access restricted their lifting capability. Utilizing common options such as a rotator - to lift the semi trailer up - were shelved due to the positioning of the wreck under the interstate bridge. The driver of the semi assisted fire crews by removing the cab of the semi off the trailer - allowing firefighters to manually lower the front of the trailer. This created a pivot at the rear wheel base and raised the tail end of the trailer. This operation helped relieve some of the pressure off the landscape truck containing the 2 pinned men. After crews stabilized the semi and the dump truck using cribbing and struts, two high pressure airbags were deployed to lift the semi trailer up. Tactical crews then raised the bed of the dump portion of the truck and using a Sawzall, cut away an attached trailer - which allowed for better access to remove the cab around the occupants. In all - crews mitigated the entire incident in 60 minutes.
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