March 3, 2011
Rescue Squad Extricates One Trapped on Beltway Ramp
Rescue Squad crews extricated the driver of a vehicle trapped as a result of a collision on the ramp from Rockville Pike onto the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway.
Ambulance 741C and Rescue Squad 741, along with Engine 720 from Bethesda, were dispatched for a collision on the right shoulder of northbound Rockville Pike at the ramp to the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway. Units arrived on scene to find a car on the ramp that had been sideswiped on the driver’s side door. The door had been pushed inside of the rocker panel, trapping the driver.
The Rescue Squad crew quickly dropped the car onto step chocks and then began cutting. They popped the driver’s door using hydraulic spreaders, and were able to open the rear door on the driver's side. This allowed them to cut the B post without having to remove the rear door. First they cut the top using hydraulic cutters,which provided greater access to the bottom of the post. A single cut at the bottom, where the post joins the bottom of the door, enabled the crew to fold the door out and quickly finish the job. They could then remove the rear door and the post from the vehicle in one piece.
The patient was placed on a backboard, removed from the vehicle, and transported with non-traumatic injuries to Suburban Hospital by Ambulance 741C.
