Truckie forced to wait three hours to be rescued from overturned B-double after giving his wrong location to emergency services
May 9, 2011
A truck driver was trapped in his overturned B-double for more than three hours after he ran off the Goulburn Valley Highway at Wahring in Victoria today.
The 54-year-old initially thought he was on the Hume Freeway when he rang the emergency services for help, as he was dazed and confused and was not sure of his location, Ambulance Victoria intensive care flight paramedic Colin Carty says.
“We had paramedics from Seymour dispatched to look for the truck along the Hume and also sent a crew from Epping to travel up the Hume as far as Donnybrook in case the man was further south than he thought,” Carty says.
“Thankfully the man had his phone on a cord around his neck so was able to make a call to 000 but didn’t know where he was other than the truck was up against a concrete wall under a bridge.
“When the truck couldn’t be located a helicopter jointly operated by Ambulance Victoria and police was dispatched to search along the Hume Freeway for the man.”
He was found under a bridge which could not be seen by passing motorists on the Goulburn Valley Highway.
“The man was extensively trapped by his legs and may have suffered a spinal injury and rib injuries in the crash,” Carty says.
“He also had significant pain in his lower back which took a large amount of pain relief medication to get under control.”
He was fitted with a neck brace and taken to the Alfred Hospital in a serious but stable condition, Carty says.