Firefighters Free Him After Collision : Driver Trapped by Load of Metal Saved

A piece of metal weighing two tons crashed through the back of a pickup truck and into the cab in a three-vehicle collision Friday, trapping the driver for more than an hour before firefighters could free him, Santa Ana police said.

Benjamin Chavez, 23, of Santa Ana suffered serious injuries in the midday collision at Raitt Street and MacArthur Boulevard after the impact of the crash lodged the metal in Chavez’s back and jammed the truck’s doors shut.

Motorists tried to help, but the piece of prefabricated metal, which was apparently unsecured, was too heavy to move, witnesses said. “I tried to pull the door open, but it was stuck,” said Frank Beverly, who stood by watching rescue workers try to free the man. “You couldn’t move it.”

Surgeons helicoptered to the scene, prepared for an on-the-spot operation if firefighters had been unable to free Chavez. But he was taken from the wreckage at 1:10 p.m. after firefighters used a pneumatic jack and a tow truck to pry the metal off the victim and open the pickup’s doors. Chavez was put aboard a Lifeline helicopter that landed on the field of Greenville Fundamental School next to the intersection and flown to United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where he was reported in serious condition Friday night with a possible broken back and internal injuries.

Police said the pickup collided with a car trying to turn north onto Raitt as Chavez drove west on MacArthur. Chavez, who was alone in the blue-and-white Chevrolet pickup, hit the turning car along with another westbound vehicle, police said.

Witnesses said the car that tried to turn onto Raitt from MacArthur was driving slowly.

Santa Ana Police Lt. Earl Porter said the driver of that car, an 83-year-old woman whom he did not identify, and the driver of the other car were not injured. Porter added that no charges were filed immediately.

The traffic light at the intersection of MacArthur and Raitt does not have a left-turn signal.

“I guess it takes something like this to get” a turn signal, said nearby resident Gloria Vasquez as she watched the rescue efforts. “All I saw was that thing,” she said, pointing to the wreckage. “It’s awful.”