On Friday, July 6, at 2:29 AM, 4 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 6 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 3 EMS Battalion Captains, 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, and DOT, all under the direction of Battalion Chief Brian Cummings responded to a Traffic Collision with Entrapment at 525 E. Slauson Av. in the South Los Angeles area.
The men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to an early morning traffic accident and arrived on scene of a two car traffic with multiple patients. Fire Department resources found some of the occupants had self extricated themselves. A quick assessment of the two vehicles, Department resources found a total of five patients, three listed as critical, one moderate and one minor injury.
The small 4-door sedan, containing the driver and 3 passengers sustained significant damage. Three of the occupants were in critical condition, all males 25, 28 and 50 years of age. The damage to the vehicle was so significant, that it took Fire Department resources approximately 31 minutes to extricate the most severely injured patient, the 25 year old passenger, who received major crushing injuries. The second vehicle, an older model Ford Bronco, was driven by a 40 year old male who sustained minor abrasions and lacerations. All patients were transported to area hospitals.
The close proximity of the incident to railroad tracks, prompted the IC to inquiry about shutting down the tracks for the duration of the incident. Communication with Burlington / Santa Fe Railroad found the tracks are “inactive.” The cause of the traffic accident is under investigation by the local police agency.