Firefighters had to work quickly — and carefully — Thursday morning to free a motorist who became trapped after crashing a minivan into a barn in Hempfield.
Hempfield Fire Assistant Chief Dan Thoma said the vehicle slammed into a load-bearing wall of the structure along Eisaman Road around 7:20 a.m. and went partially inside.
Firefighters used pneumatic shoring, or expandable poles, that they carry in Adamsburg fire trucks to provide safety while they worked on getting the driver out of the minivan.
“We worked to assess the building and put shoring on both sides to make sure it doesn’t come down further on the car,” he said.
Once that was secure, the driver, who was not identified, was removed via the driver’s side door and taken by Mutual Aid EMS to a hospital with significant injuries. The barn is used for storage on Logan Family Farms near West Hempfield Middle School, Thoma said.
It appeared the minivan was traveling down a hill on Eisaman Road and lost control around a bend in the road where it goes over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
A structural rescue operation can be tricky, Thoma said. Firefighters handled a similar situation six weeks ago after an SUV crashed into a car dealership on Route 30 in Hempfield.
“It complicates things and it adds that time element to it,” he said, adding that the extra caution can prevent further injuries.
Thursday’s crash was the second time that barn had been hit by a vehicle, he said. After the minivan was towed out of the barn, firefighters set up more temporary supports for the building.
