YARMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A man in his 70s is in the hospital after his car rolled forward, which caused his leg to get stuck between the wheel and frame of the car.
Yarmouth Fire Department was notified at 5:21 a.m. on Wednesday of a person with their leg lodged between the wheel and frame of a car at Seagull Beach in West Yarmouth. Crews found a man on the ground with his ankle and foot pulled into the front wheel well of a sedan and stuck behind the tire upon arrival. The man, who was the operator of the vehicle, believed the car was in park when he exited the vehicle. The vehicle had rolled forward, caught the man’s foot and wedged it into the wheel well.
“As the car is rolling forward, we’re not sure exactly how his foot wound up in there, but it appeared to be pulled up and over and wedged in between the wheel well and the tire,” said Yarmouth Fire Department Captain Kevin Huck. “It’s kind of dragging him in.”
Crews quickly organized a plan to extract the man without causing further injury. Wood cribbing was used to stabilize the car while personnel slowly deflated the tire and lifted the car with airbags at the same time, allowing enough room to remove the man’s foot.
“I don’t know how in the world he managed to do that,” said beachgoer Diane Gallagher. “I looked at the picture and I said, ‘How did he do that? On purpose?'”
“It’s incredible the way they react to crazy situations and come out and know what to do and took care of him, so I applaud the fire department,” said Pamela Galgay, another beachgoer.
The person is being treated at Cape Cod Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
“The guys did an excellent job when they evaluated it; they came up with a plan, they had a little discussion, they put the plan into effect and it worked very well,” Huck said.
The fire department credits a private ambulance crew that just happened to be nearby and called in the emergency.
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