Greene County first responders dealt with a bizarre entrapment situation on Dec. 22 when a tractor-trailer traveling eastbound near milepost 141 ran off the road and into the wood line.
According to Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Bashore, the truck downed and uprooted several pine trees in the area, and the force of the collision left it in several pieces.
When first responders arrived, they found the driver trapped under segments of copper wire, which crashed through the trailer and into the cab of the truck. The engine and transmission wound up 20 feet from the front of the car.
Bashore said those on the scene were scratching their heads about how the driver wound up underneath the cargo.
The truck's frame was upside down, with the driver underneath it. The driver was still in the driver’s seat, and the cab rested on it.
Bashore said personnel from Greene County Fire Rescue C-shift units E12, E11, E13, and Battalion 1, Greene County EMS units M1 and M2, the Siloam Fire Department, and the Greensboro Fire Department responded.
Personnel extricated the truck driver in approximately 36 minutes. He was then airlifted by helicopter to a trauma center in Augusta.
Bashore said the truck driver was injured, but he was lucid and talking to first responders on the scene when he was placed in the helicopter.
The truck driver’s condition is unknown at this time.