KELSO Wash. — According to a news report from KPTV in Portland, a semi-truck driver was severely injured in a rollover crash that involved a pickup truck in Kelso, Wash. on Friday night, citiing the Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue.
According to the report, shortly before 11:30 p.m., emergency responders were sent to the two-vehicle crash near the Interstate 5 Southbound off-ramp at exit 42. They found the semi-truck on its side, with the 57-year-old driver pinned inside.
Firefighters and police had to first stabilize the semi, and then cut away the “entangled metal” from around the driver. The whole process took two hours, firefighters said.
KPTV reported that the man was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was treated for muscular skeletal injuries including a severe injury to his lower left leg, and then was transferred to a trauma hospital.
The driver of the involved pickup truck was also given a medical check for chest pain.
According to firefighters, “multiple responders, some with over 20 years of experience, expressed that this was one of the most challenging and complex car accidents, involving extrication of a patient, they had experienced in their careers.”
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.