Near midnight on April 24, 2021, LAFD members from multiple fire stations responded to a severe multi-vehicle traffic incident on the 101 Freeway. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a four-car crash that spanned several hundred feet on one of the busiest stretches of freeway in Los Angeles.
A driver suspected of being under the influence rear-ended a box truck. The impact caused both vehicles to lose control and crash into the center divider wall. The box truck then entered the westbound lanes and was struck by an oncoming vehicle. The box truck ultimately landed on its side, and cantilevered atop the center divider. The truck’s cab had sustained massive damage and was dangling over the westbound lanes, facing oncoming traffic.
Firefighter/Paramedic Chadwick Qualley was the first to climb his way to the top of the wreckage and discovered what appeared to be three deceased victims. Upon closer inspection, Qualley caught a glimpse of eye movement in one of the victims, and he immediately initiated a rescue.
The severely injured victim was tightly pinned under part of the dash console. Qualley removed his protective turnout coat and helmet to squeeze inside the mangled cab. As Qualley worked to stabilize the patient, Firefighter II David Stigger forced his way underneath the passenger side of the dangling cab to assist with the delicate extrication.
At significant personal risk to themselves, the two members worked in unison to free the patient, despite the possibility of being injured or crushed by the shifting of the unstable cab. With assistance from their fellow firefighters, they extricated the patient and conducted the hand-off to the waiting ambulance crew.
