May 2, 2007

Crash traps driver in van

       Firefighters worked for more than 90 minutes to free a Brown County man trapped in a crumpled van near Whiteland on Tuesday.  The van struck a dump truck head on at the S-curve of Whiteland Road at Honey Creek Road just after 7:30 a.m., according to police.

         Whiteland, New Whiteland and White River Township firefighters used the Jaws of Life and other tools to rescue Sean Hruban. He suffered two broken legs.  Hruban talked to firefighters while his legs were pinned under the dash, occasionally crying out in pain.  A helicopter took him to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he was listed in stable condition.  A Rural/Metro ambulance took the truck driver, Joetta Camden of Franklin, to Methodist, where she was treated and released.

         Hruban, 25, was driving eastbound to work in Whiteland. The sun blinded Hruban as he set his cell phone on the passenger seat, Johnson County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Doug Cox said. Hruban drifted into the left lane as the dump truck came around the curve, Cox said.  Camden tried to swerve to get out of the way, said Bargersville resident Dennis Dussia, who was following the truck. The truck ended up inches away from a roadside ditch after the accident.  Skid marks showed the dump truck stayed in the correct lane, according to a sheriff's office report.  The crash would have been far worse if the ARW Trucking dump truck, on its way to pick up sand in Waverly, had been carrying a full load, Deputy Sheriff Bob Sexton said.

         After the collision, Dussia ran to help Hruban, who was hanging out the driver's side door with his legs pinned under the dash. Dussia wasn't able to budge the door.  Camden, who suffered cuts to her hands from a cracked windshield, kept asking if the other driver was OK, Dussia said.  Firefighters cut out the windshield, driver's side door and roof of the van. Several attempts to use the Jaws of Life had to be stopped when the stretched metal put more pressure on Hruban's legs, said BillyJack Mefford, spokesman for the Whiteland Fire Department.  Twelve Whiteland firefighters were on the scene within four minutes after the wreck, which was reported at 7:38 a.m. A three-men crew from the New Whiteland Fire Department and five firefighters from the White River Township Fire Department arrived later to assist.  A medic held Hruban's head steady while firefighters used power saws to hack away at the twisted metal to reposition him. They reassured him that he'd be fine as they tried to push back the dash with the hydraulic spreaders.  Hruban was pulled out through the driver's side door about 9:10 a.m.

         LifeLine helicopters are called in during lengthy vehicle extractions because the pressure of a crushed vehicle can cause serious internal injuries, Mefford said. The extent of Hruban's injuries was not immediately available.  Many of the firefighters on hand hadn't seen such a difficult extraction, even with more than 20 years of service in some cases, Whiteland Fire Chief Dave Gabbard said.  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal)

           
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