Truck-Trailer Crunches Car : Motorist Tunes In to Rescue Sounds

The roar of cutting tools and the shouts of rescuers were music to the ears of a Ventura motorist who was trapped for almost two hours Wednesday after a tractor-trailer truck flipped on top of his car in Valencia, authorities said.

Firefighters cut through the aluminum trailer of the truck and the roof of the car to rescue Everett Brewer, 34, who escaped with minor cuts and bruises, California Highway Patrol Officer Louie Pravettone said.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Roy Burleson said he talked with Brewer as rescuers slashed their way through the aluminum skin of the trailer and into the car.

“I asked him how his ears were with all the noise, and one of the things he said was, ‘It’s music to my ears,’ ” Burleson said. “He couldn’t wait to get out.”

Truck’s Brakes Give Out

The truck driver, Frances Bruno, 30, of Los Angeles, had picked up a load of snack crackers in Van Nuys and was hauling them to Valencia when he lost his brakes at about 11:35 a.m. while leaving the Golden State Freeway at Magic Mountain Parkway, Pravettone said. Bruno told authorities he lost control of the truck as he swerved onto the embankment in an attempt to miss several cars at the bottom of the off-ramp.

Brewer reported that he saw the truck passing him on the shoulder and had time only to duck as the trailer flipped on its side and onto the car.

Burleson, one of the first Los Angeles County firefighters to arrive, said he could see the top of Brewer’s head through the wreckage and asked about his injuries. “He said he just couldn’t move because he was pinned.”

The rescue efforts began when firefighters inflated several air bags under the trailer to lift it four to five inches, Burleson said. A truck wrecker then tried to raise the trailer, but the frame of the trailer collapsed, he said.

About 30 people, including bystanders, CHP officers, firefighters, paramedics and Caltrans workers then formed a human conveyor belt to remove about 200 boxes of crackers. After finding an area over the car, rescuers began cutting through the metal, Burleson said.

Brewer was in high spirits as they worked.

“When we were pulling him out, he said, ‘Would you mind getting my wallet for me?’ ” Burleson said.

The truck driver was treated by paramedics at the scene, and Brewer was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released, authorities said.

A CHP inspection of the truck found that its brakes were not working properly, Pravettone said.