Firefighters Respond to Severe Knox County (TN) Crash

Firefighters at the scene of a severe motor vehicle accident in Knox County, Tennessee.

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Incident report and photos by Mike Watiker

Just after noon on Thursday, the Knox County (TN) e911 Center received multiple calls reporting a head-on injury traffic crash on Tazwell Pike in the Gibbs community.

A rescue assignment was immediately dispatched consisting of the Rural/Metro Fire and EMS divisions (RMFD) and the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad (KVERS).

Upon arrival Rescue 123 and Engine 233 found a two-vehicle, high-speed, head-on crash between a Jeep Cherokee and a full-size work van. Once incident command, was established it was obvious that additional resources were going to be needed. An extra engine, rescue, and medic were requested.

Due to the severe nature and damage caused by the crash, two LifeStar aircraft were requested for each driver, who were trapped in their respective vehicles.

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KVERS Res-123 immediately began to extricate the driver of the Jeep by removing the driver’s side door. This task was quickly completed and the victim was a “Load and go” trauma since the first LifeStar helicopter was still a few minutes out.

Now companies switched to the driver of the work van, which presented a series of extrication challenges. The driver of the van was pinned by the drive’rs door, the steering wheel, and the brake pedal. It took about 30 minutes to “peel” the van from around him using a combination of hydraulic and electric tools, thanks to many committed rescue staff and good old ingenuity.

LifeStar 3 arrived on scene and landed in a nearby field. Lifestar 4 was orbiting over the scene but was released because there was only one patient left at the crash.

Once the van driver–who was conscious, alert, and breathing on his own–was out of his vehicle, he was assessed by RMAS before he was transfered to the LifeStar medical staff.

Once in the helicopter, it was a short flight to the University of Tennessee emergency department where the other driver had been ground transported.

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The Knox County Sheriff’s Office was the investigating agency and concluded the Jeep was likely at fault and speed was definitely a factor. The driver of the SUV was charged with driving on a revoked licence and no proof of insurance. Other charges are pending.

Neither driver is in life-threatening condition, despite the severity of the crash, which had a closure rate in excess of 80 mph.

RMFD and KVERS work together on a daily basis to provide a wide variety of rescue services to the people of Knox county, Tennessee. Responding companies included RMFD Engines 233 and 234; KVERS Rescue 123 and 122; RS-11 (Chief Whited); and LifeStar 3 and 4.  RMAS also had two medics on scene.

Follow Mike Watiker on Twitter at @mwatiker.

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