Crews respond to tractor trailer rollover

VILLAGE OF EAST SYRACUSE – On Easter Sunday, local crews responded to a rollover crash in East Syracuse involving a tractor trailer.
The East Syracuse Fire Department was at the scene of the accident near Carrier Circle alongside responders from the DeWitt Fire District, East Area Volunteer Emergency Services (EAVES Ambulance), and the DeWitt Police Department.
The vehicle crash occurred at approximately 1:05 p.m. East Syracuse Fire Chief Lenny DiBello said.
DiBello said he was unsure of the exact cause of the March 31 accident, but he said the truck had rolled onto its driver’s side at the edge of the road right after getting off the Carrier Circle roundabout, just as the vehicle in question was heading onto New York State Route 298 toward Military Circle.
The driver, a local man, was still in his seat belt and was pinned by the steering wheel when the village fire department’s members arrived.
It took the crews almost an hour to remove the occupant from the truck cab according to DiBello, who added that the vehicle itself had to be rolled off its side in order for the first responders to gain access to the entrapped driver.
The chief said a car spreader, a seat belt cutter, windshield cutters, winches, and two rescue jacks were among the instruments used to facilitate the rescue and stabilize the truck. He added that the roof of the tractor, the rear of the tractor and its passenger-side door were all cut open during the ordeal.
The driver was conscious the entire time, DiBello said, but pain relief was administered through an IV by paramedics as the injured patient was being rescued.
“We ended up getting down to a point where we had to remove his boot to manipulate his foot out of where he was,” DiBello said. “It was one of those things where every time we gained an inch, we’d lose a couple because something else would happen.”
DiBello said he thanks the other agencies at the scene for their assistance that afternoon.
He said that the crews involved “worked together” and “did a great job,” and that the whole rescue effort was even more noteworthy given that it was a holiday and a good amount of the responders were volunteers.
“It was an extensive extrication,” DiBello said. “We don’t get them like that all the time, but it was good to know that when we did we were able to take care of it.”
An EAVES Ambulance spokesman said the driver was transported to the Level 1 trauma center at Upstate University Hospital that afternoon with a broken leg and some minor cuts and bruises.
The man was discharged from the hospital later that same day and was “doing well” as of last week considering the scale of the accident, the spokesman for the East Syracuse-based volunteer medical service said.