MEDINA, Ohio — Firefighters from the Medina Fire Department rescued a driver whose semi slid off I-71 and down a steep snow-covered embankment on Monday.
The department responded to the northbound lanes of I-71 at mile marker 216 where a semitrailer had slid off the road and crashed into an embankment.
The driver’s door was jammed, which trapped him inside the vehicle.
With heavy snow and the steep slope, firefighters had to set up a low-angle rope rescue system to assist in getting personnel and equipment down to the bottom of the embankment, which was about 50 feet from the highway.
Crews used hydraulic spreaders to open the door and free the driver, who was immediately transported to a nearby hospital for injuries.
While firefighters freed the driver, they simultaneously deployed absorbent booms in the creek below the truck to contain the diesel fuel that had leaked from a fuel tank that was damaged in the crash.
“This was a complex incident, requiring personnel from Engine-1, Rescue-3, Rescue-6, Car-1 and Car-3. We'd like to thank our partner agencies who were also on scene, including Medina LST, Montville Township PD, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the Ohio EPA,” the department said.
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