55 year old Gary Cantrell of Smithville was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital Wednesday morning after he lost control of his 1993 Jeep Wrangler and overturned on Keltonburg Road.
Trooper Jason Cobble of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that Cantrell was east on State Highway 288 (Keltonburg Road) when the Wrangler went off the right side of road, came back across the highway and overturned, before going off the left side of the road. The Wrangler came to rest on its side.
Cantrell was partially penned underneath the roll bar of the Wrangler. Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, a County Fire Fighter, and another passerby came upon the wreck and stopped to assist. They were able to lift the vehicle enough to free Cantrell.
DeKalb EMS treated Cantrell at the scene and transported him to the Keltonburg Community Center grounds where he was airlifted by helicopter ambulance and flown to Vanderbilt Hospital.
Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s extrication and rescue team were summoned and enroute to the scene but were not needed after Cantrell was freed from underneath the vehicle.
The Keltonburg Station of the County Fire Department established the helicopter landing zone.
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