May 9, 2002 * 02-34-01

(SUQUAMISH, Kitsap County) -- A 41 year-old man, freed by firefighters after becoming entrapped in his vehicle during a crash near here, was airlifted to Seattle last evening.

North Kitsap Fire & Rescue crews were called to Suquamish Way, just southwest of its intersection with Totten Road, shortly before 9:00pm Wednesday. Arriving at the scene, firefighters found an older Chevrolet sedan -- its nose wrapped around a power pole while the entire vehicle teetered on its side on the edge of an embankment. The driver and apparent sole occupant of the car was conscious but suffering from multiple injuries. Crews quickly stabilized the precariously-perched car by stretching a length of chain from the car's rear bumper to the nearby fire engine. Additional crews arrived and further stabilized the car which also sustained severe damage to its windshield and passenger compartment. After firefighters pried the car's door open, the man -- who held a California drivers license -- was removed from the vehicle and taken to Suquamish Elementary School where an Airlift Northwest helicopter was waiting to take him to Harborview Medical Center.

The man suffered multiple injuries to his face, head, chest and abdomen. Given his injuries and damage to the interior of the car, the man was most likely not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.