PHOTOS: Crews extricate patient from overturned vehicle on I-75

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alachua County Fire Rescue crews extricated one person from an overturned vehicle this evening on I-75.

At about 6:50 p.m. on May 31, crews responded to a reported motor vehicle crash with entrapment near mile marker 390 (NW 39th Avenue) on southbound Interstate 75.

Crews found two vehicles with moderate to heavy damage off the roadway. One vehicle was overturned, while the other was resting on its side. Crews quickly determined that one vehicle had been towing the other at the time of the crash.

During a rapid evaluation, firefighters located a critically injured patient entrapped inside the vehicle resting on its side. Rescue personnel immediately stabilized the vehicle and performed a roof-flap extrication using hydraulic rescue tools. The patient was successfully extricated and transported to the hospital, less than 10 minutes from the time crews arrived on scene.

Alachua County Fire Rescue would like to remind motorists to remain attentive while driving and to obey Florida’s Move Over Law. When emergency vehicles, law enforcement officers, tow trucks, or other responders are operating along the roadway, drivers should move over whenever it is safe to do so or reduce their speed accordingly.