Napa Woman Rescued from Burning Car
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa personal injury lawyer. On Friday, June 2, 2017, a woman was saved from the burning wreckage of an auto accident by an off-duty firefighter from St. Helena who was on his way home from a second job.
Accident Details
According to reports from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the collision occurred at about 1:50 a.m. when a 23-year-old Napa woman had been traveling on Highway 29 close to the intersection of Highway 128 near Rutherford Grill.
The woman had reportedly lost control of her vehicle, a GMC Yukon, as she was attempting to make an unsafe turning maneuver. The maneuver caused her vehicle to cross the highway, travel over the oncoming lane, and collide head-on with a tree on the side of the road.
A Good Samaritan
The firefighter told reporters that he had just got off his shift as a chef de partie at Yountville’s The French Laundry and was headed home when he noticed the wrecked car on the side of the highway. The firefighter said that he noticed that there was a tow truck near the car and he assumed that the truck was there to haul the vehicle away. However, the firefighter soon realized that the driver of the tow truck was struggling to open the door of the smashed vehicle and that smoke was coming from the windows.
The firefighter then pulled over to help the tow truck driver and noticed that an injured woman was trapped inside the car. He immediately began to assist the tow truck driver in extricating the woman.
A Close Call
The firefighter told reporters that, as he attempted to free the injured woman, the flames in the car became more and more intense. He noted that the growing intensity of the fire prompted him and the tow truck driver to work as quickly as possible and that, when they finally freed the woman, the car was totally engulfed in flames in the span of a minute.
The firefighter also noted that the extrication was especially difficult because the woman had sustained a major injury to her upper leg and was in extreme pain.
Injuries and Emergency Response
After the woman was rescued, the firefighter called 911 so that the woman could receive proper medical attention. Meanwhile, the tow truck driver positioned his truck between them and the burning car so as to protect them in the event that the burning car exploded.
An ambulance arrived about 12 minutes later and the woman was taken to the nearest hospital for treatment. Medical officials reported that she had sustained a compound leg fracture. No other vehicles or persons were involved or injured in the collision.
Credit Given
When interviewed, the firefighter gave credit to the tow truck driver, a 44-year-old male resident of Richmond, for “taking the lead” and acting quickly to rescue the trapped woman. CHP added that the tow truck driver’s actions may well have been vital in saving the woman’s life.
Napa Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Napa personal injury lawyer. If you, or a loved one has suffered injury or death after a car accident, please give me a call at (707) 427-1772 for friendly advice at no charge. If you live outside of the area, you can use this number: (800) 404-5400, toll-free.
I have been assisting people who reside in the Napa area to recover compensation they are justly owed in cases involving personal injury and wrongful death for longer than 35 years.
Some of my client reviews and ratings are located on: Avvo, Yelp, and Google.
I am in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Being in this forum means that you are part of a group of highly rated trial lawyers in the U.S. who’ve all reached settlements or won verdicts that had a value of over $1 million dollars.
Some of my Past Verdicts and Settlements can be viewed here.
I brought you the Northern California region’s top website for up-to-date, useful info on vehicle collisions and personal injuries, AutoAccident.com.
Image Attribution: Wikimedia Commons
:ms cv