Yuma, Arizona - This morning, at approximately 7:10 am, a motor vehicle crash was reported on County 12th Street at Avenue 5-1/2E. Additional information from Yuma Police Department personnel was that the driver was injured and trapped in the vehicle. Yuma Fire Department personnel arrived at that location to find a passenger car on the north side of the road in a construction area. A 4” steel pipe had pierced the entire vehicle from driver’s door thru to the passenger compartment and out the rear passenger door. The pipe was protruding out both sides of the vehicle and had impaled and pinned the driver.
Emergency personnel worked with the onsite construction crew to stabilize the pipe while Paramedics provided patient care, and other YFD personnel used saws and other tools to disassemble the vehicle around the driver. The pipe was then cut on either side of the driver, who was now able to be removed from the vehicle and transported to a waiting helicopter. The process took approximately 90 minutes. The driver was conscious and able to communicate with rescue workers, and was transported with the imbedded section of pipe to a trauma center in the Phoenix area.
The traffic crash is being investigated by the Yuma Police Department.