Rescue personnel and units from the Merrill Fire Department (MFD) along with the Lincoln County Sheriff Department responded Tuesday morning to a one vehicle accident with injuries , on Hwy 51 just north of the Hwy H overpass, in the town of Rock Falls , 8 miles north of Merrill. 911 dispatch reported the call at about 09:00, Merrill Ambulance Medic 1, along with Rescue 1 from Merrill went enroute almost immediately to the crash scene. A short time after the initial Merrill rescue units were enroute, dispatch relayed to Merrill Fire that the car was leaking fluids including gasoline, which then prompted an additional response for a pumper from Merrill. Units were quickly notified that one person was out of the car and one (the driver) was trapped inside the vehicle.
Upon arrival Merrill rescue personnel found two individuals who were traveling south when the vehicle they were traveling in left the roadway and hit the guard rail. Approximately 80 feet of guard rail was dislodged and speared the car from the engine compartment through to the drivers’ door. The rail pushed the driver side door down onto the patient leaving him trapped inside the vehicle.
Rescue personnel quickly used cribbing from Merrill’s Rescue truck to stabilize the vehicle and then extricated the patient from the wreck with the “Jaws of Life”. Fire personnel also had to utilize emulsi-flash to neutralize leaking gasoline and vapors near the crash site, before rescue extrication could be performed. The Sheriff’s Department shut-down traffic on highway 51’s southbound lane to keep the scene safe for Merrill Fires rescue personnel and others on scene. The paramedics from MFD assessed the pt. and transported the driver to Good Samaritan Health Center in Merrill for further care.
The accident is under investigation by the Lincoln County Sherriff’s Department, heavy rain and slippery roads may have been a factor.
Rods Wrecker was called to remove the vehicle from the scene as the guard rail had to be cut away from the car to free it.