Amazing Rescue of Man Trapped Under Truckload of Dirt

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI — Firefighters had to bring in special equipment to save a man “from near certain” death after he was trapped in his car under a truckload of dirt, the Dearborn Heights Fire Department said in a news release.

The man became trapped after colliding with a double-bottom semi gravel truck on Van Born Road near Madison Street on Aug. 19, according to the release.

“Although uninjured, he found himself precariously trapped in a location where, had the trailer's contents shifted and spilled, would have been immediately buried under tons of dirt — resulting in a near certain fatality,” the fire department said in the release.

The fire department had to bring in a special, crane-style tow truck, one of only three of its kind in Michigan, to free the man after its equipment was “far outmatched,” the release said.

The tow-truck lifted the semi, giving firefighters the access they needed to cut off the door of the man’s Jaguar and free him.

“We were extraordinarily fortunate with this one,” Fire Chief David Brogan said in the release. “This was an excellent example of what can be accomplished when our responders, coupled with our commercial emergency response partners, are well-trained, well-coordinated and know how to work together quickly and efficiently.”

Image via Dearborn Heights Fire Department