Driver airlifted after multi-vehicle crash

Becky Robinette Wright/Chesterfield Observer Rescue personnel work to extract an injured victim from one of four vehicles involved in a crash on Hopkins Road last week. Litter from the vehicles peppered the road and its shoulder.

Chaos erupted in the 8100 block of Hopkins Road shortly before 7p.m. on Sept. 3 when four vehicles crashed, trapping three people and critically injuring one.

Hopkins Road looked like a wrecking yard with crumbled, battered cars and debris from the vehicles strewn from one block to another.

Firefighters and medics had to perform a special operation called a technical rescue, which involved using high powered hydraulic tools like the Jaws of Life, a Haligan (a specialized pry bar with claw-type end), blocks of wood called cribbing to stabilize the vehicles, and medical supplies for the injured.

Three rescue operations were being performed at once as lives hung in the balance.

Firefighters were divided into teams, each focused on a particular vehicle. Each team had medics administering to the patients while they were rescued. One fire engine crew was placed in charge of setting up a landing zone for Med-Flight.

All of the doors were sealed in the wreckage of one twisted, crushed vehicle. The windshield was shattered, and shards of glass protruded up and outward. A firefighter climbed through the windshield to gain access to the patient who needed immediate aid. The firefighter covered the patient with a protective cloth and monitored the patient's condition while the team began to cut into the car. The firefighter never left the patient's side during the rescue operation.

As patients were being pulled out of vehicles, Med-Flight flew into the scene, above and across the tree line. The wind from its blades stirred a dust cloud that rolled across the landing zone. Briefly the helicopter hovered above Hopkins Road, giving one the impression of a giant dragonfly. The all-clear to land was given, and slowly the air ambulance set down in a picture-perfect landing. The hearts of the onlookers and the beat of the chopper's whirring blades seemed to be beating wildly in unison.

Flight paramedics joined the ground paramedics and quickly whisked the critical patient to a waiting chariot. In mere minutes the patient was delivered to VCU Medical Center's Level 1 trauma center, and every second counted.

Responding to the crash were Centralia Engine #17, Dale Engine #11, Bensley Engine #3, Bensley Truck #3, Medics #17, #3 and #11, two battalion chiefs, the Virginia State Police, Med-Flight and multiple police units.

Police said a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica traveling south on Hopkins Road sideswiped a 1991 Isuzu Rodeo traveling north, which caused the Isuzu to collide with a 2002 Hyundai Elantra traveling south. A 1996 Mercury Sable traveling south on Hopkins Road veered off the roadway to avoid the crash and struck several trees.

The female driver of the Hyundai was transported to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. The other drivers involved suffered minor injuries. The crash continues to be under investigation.