Downed power lines make getting wreck victim out difficult

Friday, March 27, 2009 3:00 AM |

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By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

Downed power lines made it difficult for emergency responders to get to a man who drove his pickup off Daugherty Road and into a creek Thursday.

The man was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after the wreck between N.C. 152 and Interstate 85 in southern Rowan County.

The driver's name and the extent of his injuries were not available late Thursday.

The N.C. Highway Patrol is investigating the wreck. Highway Patrol officials were not available.

Bostian Heights Fire Chief Mike Zimmerman said his department responded to a single-vehicle accident with entrapment sometime between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m..

When the man drove his Ford Ranger off the road, he hit a power pole and ended up in the creek, Zimmerman said late Thursday.

"You could see where he ran off the road," the chief said.

Zimmerman said emergency responders had to go around and toward Lentz Road to get to the man. He was trapped by power lines.

"We routed other trucks and rescue and EMS ... so we could get to the patient better," Zimmerman said.

The responders used extra caution in extracting the man from his truck.

"The lines were down. They slowed us down. We assumed the lines were hot," he said.

Rescue workers set up a landing zone at the corner of Lentz and Daugherty roads.

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