WASHINGTON COUNTY — A woman was transported to the hospital Saturday night after becoming trapped inside her vehicle when it went off North Kolob Terrace Road and rolled down a steep embankment.
Hurricane Valley Fire and Ambulance was dispatched to the scene around 8 p.m. on reports that the vehicle had left the roadway, located off state Route 9 several miles north of Virgin. The vehicle came to rest approximately 50 feet from the road after rolling with a woman and 2-year-old child inside.
One Good Samaritan who lent his service on scene was Boyce Mulder, a volunteer firefighter and EMT for the Rockville Springdale Fire District.
When Mulder first arrived on scene, the child had already been removed from the vehicle, he said. The child had been safely buckled into a car seat and appeared to be fine with a mild laceration on the face. However, the woman was still pinned inside the vehicle.
While most of the woman’s body was inside of the car, Mulder said, her arm was outside of the window and trapped underneath the car. Because of how the car came to rest, responders could not reach the woman without putting her in serious danger.
Even though she was in a very dangerous situation, Mulder said, the woman inside the vehicle was awake, alert and talking with those who were trying to help her.
“We had a bunch of us just holding the car up to stabilize it,” Mulder said, “just like a bunch of human stabilizers to try to ensure the safety of the paramedic trying to get in there to treat her.”
A winch cable was used to help support and secure the vehicle while the woman was extricated. After assisting on scene for about three hours, Mulder said the group was finally able to get the woman out of the vehicle.
The woman was transported via ambulance to Sunset Canyon Ranch where she was picked up by Life Flight and transported to the hospital.
With over 20 years of experience in the field, Mulder said he has never seen anything quite like the joint effort put forth by both the emergency responders and bystanders on scene during the incident.
“The effort – the way that everybody worked together and the choreography of the whole thing – was just amazing,” Mulder said.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
St. George News Reporter Devan Chavez contributed to this report.
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