A Hendersonville woman was injured in a bizarre crash Wednesday morning on the Old Casey Cove Road in DeKalb County.
41 year old Krystal McFall was airlifted by a Life Force helicopter ambulance and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
The accident is under investigation by Trooper Chris Delong of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Members of the DeKalb County Fire Department responded and the following is a supplement to an incident report filed by County Fire Chief Donny Green as to the details of the accident.
“The DeKalb County Fire Department responded to a reported motor vehicle accident at 911 Old Casey’s Cove Road in Smithville, Tennessee. 911 Dispatch provided information that the vehicle had gone over a steep embankment and there was a patient trapped. The DeKalb County Fire Department’s Extrication Unit was also dispatched to the scene.”
“Chief Donny Green arrived on the scene and discovered a Ford F-150 pickup truck off the steep embankment with the front of the truck resting against a lakeside cabin. Green also discovered that a female, Krystal McFall, was pinned between the truck door frame and a large tree stump.”
“Rescue technicians and equipment arrived on the scene and a plan was devised to safely move the truck off of the pinned patient. The rescue operation went very smoothly and the patient was quickly freed and turned over to DeKalb County EMS for trauma treatment.”
“Upon interviewing witnesses at the scene, Chief Green learned that a 5-year old boy who was in the care of the victim, Krystal McFall, was actually present and witnessed the accident. His account, along with evidence at the scene, indicated that McFall had attempted to turn around on the narrow road and became stuck when the front end of her Ford pickup truck went slightly over an embankment. As it became apparent she was stuck, she got the young boy out of the truck as she attempted to back the truck up”.
“McFall put pieces of wood under the back tires to gain more traction. But, as she was still outside of the truck, the truck began sliding or rolling further over the steep embankment. McFall attempted to jump in the truck to apply the brakes to stop it when she became pinned between a large tree stump and the open door frame of the truck. Apparently, the 5-year old boy, who was not inside the truck and not injured, witnessed the accident and ran approximately ½ mile down the road and found someone to alert about the accident. DeKalb 911 Central Dispatch was notified of the accident and immediately dispatched appropriate resources”.
“The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb Tire and Service were on the scene to render additional assistance. DeKalb Tire and Service’s wrecker was requested to be dispatched to the scene by the fire department’s rescue personnel in case heavy equipment was needed to stabilize and move the vehicle. However, the extrication team was able to free the patient without having to use the wrecker. Chief Green expresses his appreciation to DeKalb Tire and Service for their quick response to standby at the scene”.
“Emergency personnel also credit the 5-year old boy’s bravery and composure as he played an integral role in quickly alerting a neighbor so that emergency responders could be summoned. According to Chief Green, had it not been for this young boy’s quick and smart actions, the accident would have likely been delayed in getting reported because of the remote nature and infrequent travel of this road,” Green concluded in his report.
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