Impaled passenger arrives at hospital in Dover with street sign through leg

By Craig Anderson
Posted 8/26/21

DOVER — It took first responders around 30 minutes to extricate an impaled woman from a vehicle that arrived at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, early Thursday.

The original location where …

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already a member? Log in to continue.   Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Impaled passenger arrives at hospital in Dover with street sign through leg

Posted

DOVER — It took first responders around 30 minutes to extricate an impaled woman from a vehicle that arrived at Bayhealth Hospital, Kent Campus, early Thursday.

The original location where the woman’s leg was impaled by a metal street sign was not specifically known. Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said it may have occurred on Del. 1 near Milford.

On its Facebook page, the Dover Fire Department stated members “arrived to find an extended cab pick up truck with a street sign post that entered through the passengers side floor board, through the passengers right leg and to the ceiling of the trucks cab.”

At 12:05 a.m., Kent County paramedics were at the hospital restocking gear from a previous call, according to a Department of Public Safety Facebook post. They then heard what sounded like metal dragging and went outside to find the vehicle, a male driver and the impaled passenger.

The paramedics then worked with DFD members and Bayhealth Emergency Room staff to make the extrication.

DFD Fire Chief David Carey was at the scene and said the injured woman was “alert and oriented, talking and screaming at times.”

According to the chief, a half-hour was needed due to a lot of stabilization necessary to protect the leg and manage pain. Eventually, the woman was freed from the vehicle and taken inside the hospital with the sign still in her leg, the chief said.

The woman was then treated inside the hospital and eventually transported to Christiana Hospital via ambulance, according to Kent County Director of Public Safety Colin Faulkner. While Mr. Faulkner was not at the scene, he received accounts of the incident.

“It’s an unusual situation altogether,” he said. “Most people would have stopped and called for assistance instead of continuing to drive.

“I’ve been doing this for 45 years and this is a new one.”

According to Chief Carey, “It reminds me of something you’d see in the movies or in an episode of ‘Chicago Fire.’

“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We see impalements that go through windows, but when something comes up through the car’s floorboard and through someone, it’s just an extremely unusual situation.”

Mr. Faulkner and Chief Carey both saluted the efforts of the first responders on-site.

“All the agencies worked well together for an incident that was very serious,” Chief Carey said.

Mr. Faulkner said, “There’s always a high sense of urgency when a person’s life is involved. Everyone on scene did their part and it’s an example of the system working.”

The DFD said electric Holmatro spreaders and “O” cutters were used to remove the passenger’s front and rear doors. The cutters were utilized to “cut the sign post between the patient and the ceiling of the truck, (and make) another cut ... to the post between the patient and the floor board, freeing the patient.”

The investigation was turned over to DSP.

Members and subscribers make this story possible.
You can help support non-partisan, community journalism.

x
X