Firefighters were forced to cut open a car to rescue the driver after the vehicle crashed into a tree late on Friday, July 27, in Sands Point, officials said.
The Port Washington Fire Department received a call at approximately 11:25 p.m. that a car had wrecked at the intersection of Sands Point Road and Tibbets Lane.
Second Assistant Chief Brian Waterson was the first to arrive on the scene six minutes later. The car’s passenger was able to get out of the vehicle but the driver was pinned. Waterson called for two ambulances from the Nassau County Police Department.
Removing the driver from the car took 60 minutes. First, the four doors and the roof were removed. Then the crew of Rescue 8522 performed a dashboard roll, where rams are used to move the dashboard forward and off the driver’s legs, and used chains to perform a steering wheel displacement maneuver.
Even after all this, the driver was stilled pinned inside the car. The seat mounts were cut to get access to the driver’s legs and the gas and brake pedals were removed, which finally freed the trapped driver. The driver was then transported to the nearby John Philip Sousa Elementary School and taken to a local hospital.
Waterson said that the driver suffered a broken leg.
“He only sustained a broken leg and had no internal injuries,” he said. “I spoke to the [driver] and he was doing well, and he said he couldn’t believe it was only a broken leg.”
He added that the passenger, who was out of the car and walking around when the Fire Department arrived on the scene, did not sustain any serious injuries.
An investigation into the crash is being conducted by the Nassau County Police Department and the Sands Point Police Department. A spokesman for the Sands Point police said Monday that the investigation was ongoing and he could provide no further details.
Reach reporter Luke Torrance by email at ltorrance@theislandnow.com, by phone at 516-307-1045, ext. 214, or follow him on Twitter @LukeATorrance.
