8/25/18 - East Lansing heavy extrication, US-127 @ Trowbridge Rd

Just after 8:30 AM on Saturday, August 25, 2018, East Lansing Fire Department Station 2 was dispatched for a possible injury crash on southbound US-127 near Trowbridge Rd for a "semi went off the road". First arriving Medic 12 found a semi tractor & trailer had gone over the guardrail just before an overpass over the CN Railroad, the truck went down the median embankment and crashed into the bridge supports for the northbound overpass. Navigating the steep embankment to assess the scene, the driver was found to be alert & responsive, but heavily entrapped in the cab of the truck. Command requested station 1 presonnel to respond, as well as mutual aid from the Lansing Fire Department Technical Rescue Team and the Ingham County Sheriff Department Heavy Rescue Squad. An urgent request to close the railroad traffic was made since the tracks were just a few feet away from an unstable semi trailer perched precariously on a steep embankment. An Amtrack passenger train was loading passengers preparing for departure within sight of the bridge. Command also requested an urgent response from Northside Towing for several heavy duty wreckers to help stabilize the wreckage while rescue efforts started. Police were asked to completely close US-127 so that rescue crews could access the scene from both overpasses. Rescue crews began extrication and stabilization work simultaneously to safely remove the driver. The rescue phase took approximately 90 minutes to create enough space to bring the driver out the rear window opening of the cab. The patient was secured in a rescue basket and carried back up the embankment to a waiting ambulance. After rescue crews secured their equipment, Northside Towing started the process of wreckage removal. Additional services were also called to clean up the scene. Young's Environmental responded to mitigate the environmental hazards, MDOT was on scene to inspect the damage to the overpass and complete emergency repairs, and CN Railroad officials were on scene to coordinate with fire command & MDOT about reopening rail traffic. After Northside returned the truck to the high side of the embankment and MDOT officials inspected the bridge, rail traffic was allowed to resume after just over a 4 hour delay. Vehicle traffic on the northbound side of the highway resumed a short time later. Full southbound traffic on US-127 would reopen after a few more hours following the removal of the wreckage and repairs to the guardrail.