'Severely Injured, Burned' Man Cut Free From Peninsula Wreckage: Fire Dept.

MENLO PARK, CA – A man was severely injured in Menlo Park over the weekend when he crashed into a tree and became trapped inside the fiery wreckage, the fire department reports.

Firefighters responded to 2450 Sand Hill Road at 4:30 a.m. Sunday after the collision was reported. Menlo Park Fire Protection District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said crews located the vehicle and victim just east of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and quickly worked to extinguish the fire and rescue the victim.

"Menlo Engine 4 arrived on scene at 4:35 a.m. and confirmed that they had a vehicle into a tree, the motor compartment was on fire and a male victim in his twenties was trapped inside the vehicle," Schapelhouman said in a news release. "Firefighters quickly knocked down the fire by 4:38 a.m. but not before it had caused additional injury to the driver.

Schapelhouman said the victim's injuries consisted of "significant" trauma to his lower leg, femur and hips, along with "severe" burns on his lower extremities. He had to be extricated using the "Jaws of Life" cutters and spreaders.

He was immediately taken to Stanford Hospital.

"The difficult and challenging extrication took 15 minutes with the patient being rushed to Stanford Hospital on a Woodside Fire Protection District ambulance accompanied by Menlo Park Firefighter Paramedics," the chief said.

An update on the man's condition or possible cause of the crash was not immediately available.

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PHOTO COURTESY: Menlo Fire Battalion 1 / Bay City News Service contributed to this report