November 25, 2000

Air bags lift truck after leaving road

       A traffic accident that left a pickup perched perilously on a steep embankment forced firefighters to resort to an unusual rescue Thanksgiving night.  John Kelso, 26, of Indianapolis was driving his older-model pickup truck westbound on Stones Crossing Road, east of State Road 37, when he struck a large post. Kelso reportedly lost control of the truck, which went up a steep embankment.  Called at 8:43 p.m. Thursday, Bargersville firefighters found Kelso lying in the front seat of the pickup, without serious injuries. But they couldn’t remove him as long as the truck was leaning at a sharp angle, about to roll over.  Firefighters placed large air bags under the truck and inflated them as ballast to raise the vehicle. Then they shored it up with lumber, called “cribbing.” Once the truck was stabilized, assisting White River Township firefighters used the Jaws of Life to cut away the wreckage and extricate Kelso.  He was taken to Community Hospital South, complaining of back pain. No one else was injured.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

 

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