1/31/12 - Mason extrication, 599 S. Waverly Rd

Several agencies came together Tuesday morning to perform a difficult extrication, rescuing the driver of a vehicle that struck a tree. At 8:40 AM, the Mason Fire Department and Eaton Rapids Area EMS were dispatched to 599 S. Waverly Rd for a report of a vehicle on it's side with a person trapped in it. While en route, upgraded dispatch information resulted in a request for the Ingham County Sheriff Rescue Squad and Lansing-Mason Area Ambulance to also respond. When personnel arrived they found a Ford Focus wagon that had gone off the roadway and started to roll over when it struck a tree, roof first, impacting the vehicle across the length of the windshield and dashboard. Bystanders had already removed an infant child, strapped in a carseat, from the vehicle to inside a residence. The critically injured female driver, still seatbelted in her seat, was heavily entrapped in the vehicle by the roof, doors and dashboard. Mason Fire command requested a helicopter to the scene and mutual aid from the Delhi Township Fire Department to set up a landing zone. As EMS crews gained access to begin treatment of the patient, fire & rescue personnel immediately went to work to stabilize the vehicle, remove the damaged driver side doors, cut the roof & pillars for a roof flap and lift the dashboard off the patient. The extrication took approximately one hour, and the patient was removed from the vehicle just after Survival Flight landed on scene. The infant appeared to be uninjured and was transported to a hospital by ground ambulance. The driver was transferred to the care of the Survival Flight crew where she was flown to Sparrow Hospital's trauma center. Her injuries were reported to be non life threatening.