Firefighters cut driver free after head-on smash

By Shaun Inguanzo
DANDENONG and Springvale firefighters worked delicately to extract a driver trapped in his vehicle and thought to have spinal injuries after a head-on collision in Noble Park on Sunday.
The two cars collided head-on along Corrigan Road, near Athol Road, at 5.45pm, firefighters said.
Fire officer Michael Hembrow said when crews arrived the driver of a Nissan Sylvia was trapped, but still conscious.
“The ambos were working on him, stabilising him and keeping him calm,” Mr Hembrow said.
He said firefighters’ main concern for the driver, aged in early 20s, was the potential for spinal injury from dragging him out through the door.
“There is always the worry of back or neck injury nowadays, and we didn’t want to twist him in case it did greater damage.
“So we had to take the roof off, get the spine board in, and bring him out that way.”
Mr Hembrow said the Dandenong Rescue crew used the jaws of life to cut the roof off the car, all the while taking care not to place unnecessary pressure on the pinned driver.
“The driver was conscious the whole time, we spoke to him when we first got there. He was probably a bit more shocked than anything.”
The drivers of both cars were then transported to hospital in stable conditions.
Mr Hembrow said both drivers were lucky to have escaped serious injury given the nature of the crash.