'Jaws of Life' Used to Free Driver in Sumner-Buckley Highway Crash Friday

Information from East Pierce Fire and Rescue:

Buckley, Wash. – East Pierce Fire and Rescue firefighters used the “Jaws of Life” to remove a driver from his vehicle after a crash at 6 p.m. Friday, on the 26300 block of Sumner-Buckley Highway. According to witnesses, a full-size pickup truck ran into the back of a silage truck, trapping the driver of the pickup.

East Pierce Battalion Chief Jay Adams says that, because of the way the pickup hit the silage truck, the airbags were not triggered. “It required a fairly lengthy extrication to remove the driver,” he says.

Both lanes of the Sumner-Buckley Highway were closed for about 30 minutes during operations. East Pierce crews transported the driver and passenger from the pickup to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the silage truck was not injured.

The scene was turned over to the Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies, who are investigating the cause of the crash.