Paul Bass Photo
Two passengers were trapped. Firefighters had to work fast to free them — but not too fast.
The firefighters’ challenge: performing automotive surgery on a crumpled Pontiac GT Grand Am.
A Toyota Prius slammed into that Grand Am at the perilous intersection of Westville’s Central Avenue and Willard Street around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Judging by the contorted mass of metal on the scene, it was a dramatic crash, and probably one involving some fast driving.
Twelve firefighters rushed to the scene. Paramedics easily removed the driver of the Toyota hybrid, who was alone in that car. They removed two of the four occupants of the mangled Grand Am, too, the driver and the rear driver’s side passenger. All three were transported to the hospital.
The Grand Am’s other two occupants were stuck in the passenger-side front and rear seats. Demolished car doors pinned their legs.
The firefighters brought out a Holmatro high-pressure hydraulic tool to cut into the metal and remove the doors.
They knew they had to work as quickly as possible. But they also knew they had to be careful, noted Capt. Brian Jooss, lest they push part of the metal into the trapped victims.
“You have to be very meticulous about how you cut,” Jooss said.
By around 6 p.m. the doors were off. Click on the video at the top of the story to watch the crew complete the task and remove the last two passengers.
All five people involved in the crash went to Yale-New Haven Hospital, according to acting West Battalion Chief Miguel Rosada. He described the injuries as non-life-threatening: the victims were “alert” and “conscious.” No pools of blood.
Rosada said it was too soon to ascertain who was at fault in the crash.
Neighbors gathered in the early-evening dark to watch the rescue effort. Jane Dubin and Mary Rubano (at center and left in photo) fumed about the lack of a regular traffic light at the corner. Instead, the intersection has a flashing light and, on Willard, stop signs.
Dubin and Rubano live in a house on the corner. They said drivers regularly speed through the intersection. They said they’ve complained to politicians and city officials.
“We want a light here. We’re sick of this. Every month this happens. People fly through,” Dubin said.
“Somebody,” Rubano added, “is going to get killed.”