TRAPPED DRIVER RESCUED FROM SERIOUS ROLLOVER CRASH

(Sept 20th)

A driver was rescued from a heavily damaged vehicle following a serious single-vehicle rollover on the Trans-Canada Highway (Outer Ring Road) late Saturday night.

Emergency crews were called to the westbound Allandale Road exit shortly after 10:40 p.m. on September 19th. Firefighters with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department (SJRFD), along with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) and NL Health Services, responded to the scene.

Firefighters from SJRFD’s Kents Pond Fire Station located the vehicle off the exit ramp and down an embankment in thick brush. A lone male occupant was found trapped, prompting crews to begin what was described as a “complicated extrication.”

An additional SJRFD rescue crew was dispatched with more equipment, including cribbing and the Jaws of Life, to assist in freeing the driver.

Following an extended rescue effort, firefighters, paramedics and police successfully extricated the man. He was secured to a rescue board and carefully carried up the embankment before being transferred to a stretcher and transported to hospital.

An SJRFD Platoon Chief confirmed the man was the sole occupant of the vehicle and suffered serious injuries that were believed to be non-life-threatening. The Platoon Chief also praised the firefighters involved in the difficult rescue and their efforts to remove the patient without causing further injury.

The Allandale Road off-ramp was closed immediately following the collision. A short time later, all westbound lanes of the Outer Ring Road were also closed as the RNC’s Accident Investigation Unit arrived to document the scene.

The highway reopened to traffic before 1:00 a.m. Sunday. More information will be provided as it becomes available.