By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
PAKENHAM emergency services are appealing to the public not to drag crash victims from vehicles, after they were called to rescue two trapped drivers over the weekend.
About 5.20am on Saturday morning, the Pakenham Road Rescue Crew was called to a crash at Princess Freeway in Garfield.
On arriving at the scene, they found the car had flipped onto its side, making for a more complicated rescue.
The PRRC used hydraulic tools to remove the roof before assisting paramedics with freeing the driver.
An investigation into the cause of the crash is still underway.
The crew was called to another incident on Sunday evening, when a car rolled into a drain, trapping the driver. The vehicle had been travelling along Main Drain Road in Kooweerup.
Rescuers arrived on the scene to find that the driver had already been dragged from the car.
“Pulling someone from a car can cause further injuries, specifically spinal injuries,” he said.
“Our crews are highly skilled and never too far away. Unless there is a risk the car may be engulfed in flames and imminent risk to a person’s life, we cannot stress enough the importance of just speaking to someone in a serious crash; reassure them that help is on the way.
“Don’t pull or drag them out and risk further injury.”
The Pakenham Road Rescue Crew is a joint partnership between volunteers from the Pakenham SES and Nar Nar Goon CFA.
