One driver was seriously injured following a three-vehicle crash Friday afternoon on State Route 6 in Chehalis and airlifted to a hospital following a more than hour-long extrication effort from EMTs.
The incident was reported at 1:05 p.m. Friday.
According to a news release from the Washington State Patrol, a 2009 Ford F150 was headed west on state Route 6 at milepost 51 when it went off the roadway and struck a barrier on the right side of the bridge.
The truck went into the eastbound lane and hit a second-vehicle, a 2019 Peterbilt garbage truck, which then veered into the westbound lane, hitting a 1998 Honda head-on.
Chehalis Fire Chief Ken Cardinale commended the actions of a number of first responders, including dispatchers, for their actions following the crash, which resulted in the driver of the Honda, a 19-year-old man, being entrapped in his vehicle and seriously injured.
“The garbage truck’s front end was all the way into the driver’s compartment,” Cardinale wrote in an email. “The dashboard of the Honda was crushed down on the driver by the truck, with the front bumper of the truck just inches from the young patient’s lap.”
Fire crews responded with two “Jaws of Life” devices to extricate the driver from the Honda, which took more than 70 minutes, according to Cardinale.
“It took all the crew members working as one team, submitting various ideas and using multiple plans of action to successfully remove the patient from the vehicle alive,” he wrote. “This was in part due to the great relationships and mutual confidence that have been built over the last year between the (Centralia Fire Department and Lewis County Fire District 6) personnel.”
The driver had a serious head injury, multiple fractures and blood loss. Emergency medical responders used a “large-bore IV” to give the patient fluids and pain-management while the extrication was ongoing.
“This action along with tireless efforts of the extrication team may have saved this patient’s life,” Cardinale wrote.
A fire engine was used to move the garbage truck, he added.
The patient was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital in critical condition.
