I-40 accident near Wallace sends man to hospital, firefighter injured during rescue

A man was rescued this morning after Fire and EMS units responded to a call requesting help for an overturned vehicle with a person pinned inside at approximately 7:30 a.m. 

The single-vehicle accident occurred on I-40 westbound lane near the 382-mile marker during a heavy downpour. The driver of the red pickup truck ran off the road and struck a tree. Units working on the patient extrication had to remove the top of the pickup truck to rescue the man.

“It was a prolonged extrication due to the way the vehicle came to rest on its side in the wood line,” Brandon McMahon, Emergency Medical Services director, told Duplin Journal, adding that the extrication of the patient took approximately one hour.

The patient was transported to ECU Health Duplin Hospital and later transferred to ECU Medical Center in Greenville. He is in critical condition. 

During the rescue, a firefighter was injured while trying to extricate the patient from the vehicle. The firefighter received an electrical jolt when lightning struck the downed fence he was touching. He was wearing protective equipment at the time he was injured. 

“Lightning struck away from us on that fence and it ran the fence. He felt it in his hand,” Chief Boney told Duplin Journal, adding that the firefighter went to the hospital to get checked and he is doing fine. 

During the rescue, a firefighter was injured while trying to extricate the patient from the vehicle. The firefighter received an electrical jolt when lightning struck the downed fence he was touching. He was wearing protective equipment at the time he was injured. 

“Lightning struck away from us on that fence and it ran the fence. He felt it in his hand,” Chief Boney told Duplin Journal, adding that the firefighter went to the hospital to get checked and he is doing fine. 

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol there is an ongoing investigation.