10/24/05 - Delhi Twp heavy extrication, Northbound US-127 south of Holt Rd

At 12:55 PM on Monday, October 24, 2005, the Delhi Township Fire Department and Lansing-Mason Ambulance Service were dispatched to a report of a two vehicle accident with entrapment involving a semi truck on northbound US-127 just south of Holt Rd in Alaiedon Township. Chief 201 was the first to arrive, finding a small pickup truck underneath a rolled over semi truck with one occupant trapped. Mutual assistance was requested from the Ingham County Sheriff Rescue Squad for additional manpower and equipment. The driver of the pickup truck was still inside his vehicle, which had received extensive damage from a fully loaded trailer of sand landing on top of it. Upon initial assessment, only the top of the patient's head was visible as he was still bent over and unable to move in his crushed vehicle. Bystanders had already started shoveling sand away from the truck to access the victim and firefighters had to complete this task before extrication could be performed. Extrication to the vehicle required removal of the roof and doors and lifting the dash and vehicle off the patient's legs, which also required lifting the semi trailer. The Holt-Mason Towing Service assisted with the rescue by rigging a heavy duty wrecker to lift the rear tandem trailer to take the weight off the pick up truck while at the same time pulling the pickup out from under the trailer. Extrication took approximately 80 minutes from the time of call. The patient remained conscious and alert throughout the rescue and initially reported that he wasnt even hurt. He was transported by ambulance but was not seriously injured. The northbound lanes of the expressway were closed for several hours to allow for the rescue efforts and recovery of the vehicles.