nhglocker
08-15-2004, 17:08
We as citizens really need to lobby for tougher road rage laws. My thoughts and prayers go out to Mr McGreevy and his family and am grateful that such brave and men and women such as these rescue workers are out there to answer the call.
As for the dump truck driver I only hope justice is served appropiately :steamed:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04156/326761.stm
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Motorcyclist saved from under burning truck
Friday, June 04, 2004
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
John Beale, Post-Gazette
Rescue workers rush Mark McGreevy of Baldwin Borough to safety after the motorcyclist was saved from under a burning truck.
Click photo for larger image.
Battling flames, smoke and the potential for an explosion, emergency workers, struggling feverishly, yesterday liberated a motorcyclist and his mangled leg from beneath a 30,000-pound dump truck that had run him over outside the Armstrong Tunnels.
As the drama played out around noon on Forbes Avenue before scores of onlookers, 43-year-old Mark McGreevy of Baldwin Borough remained conscious and alert, talking to his rescuers through the pain.
With considerable risk to their own lives, paramedics, firefighters and police officers converged on the burning cab of the dump truck to mount a rescue effort.
"We were right in the middle of it with him. There was nothing else you could do," Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services District Chief Thomas Broderick said after McGreevy was freed. "It was a scary situation."
Using special heavy-duty air bags and the Jaws of Life, paramedics managed to lift the vehicle off the badly burned McGreevy, who was plucked out and transferred to a stretcher.
John Beale, Post-Gazette
The charred motorcycle remains under the truck that caught fire on Forbes Avenue after McGrevy's rescue near the Armstrong Tunnels.
Click photo for larger image.
As rescuers rolled him toward a waiting ambulance, McGreevy could be seen with his eyes open, a heavily tattooed arm extended from his black, leather motorcycle jacket, a sheet draped over his legs. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was in critical condition and undergoing surgery yesterday.
Just before the 11:50 a.m. accident, McGreevy had driven through the Armstrong Tunnels from the Monongahela River side toward the city's Uptown section. He turned right on Forbes Avenue at Duquesne University, followed by the dump truck, and stopped behind other traffic at a red light.
Driven by an unidentified 65-year-old Indiana County man, the dump truck had just delivered a load of gravel on Second Avenue and was en route to Kittanning to pick up another load, Pittsburgh police said.
Jamie Lako was driving behind the dump truck. Police couldn't have asked for a better witness; Lako, 35, of Lincoln Place, is an insurance claims adjuster. She said she saw the light on Forbes Avenue turn green. The truck driver blew his horn, apparently signaling to the motorcyclist to move.
"The guy picked his left leg up off the ground to go on the motorcycle, and the truck just ran him over, like he thought he was going to move faster than he did," Lako said.
She said she heard the truck's air brake release and saw his brake lights turn off.
"The truck just lurched, rear-ended him and wound up on top of the motorcycle."
The accident is under investigation by both homicide detectives and accident investigators. The driver, who works for Clarksburg Trucking Co. and was driving a vehicle owned by Taylor Services Inc. in Blairsville, had his blood drawn to test it for the presence of alcohol or drugs.
Even after McGreevy had been rescued, Lako remained shaken.
"He's screaming. Nobody could help him," said Lako, who was near tears. "He's like, 'Help me, get me out of here.' "
The gas tank on McGreevy's motorcycle apparently ruptured and leaking gasoline ignited. Authorities at the scene said McGreevy's legs were on fire. Police said more than 70 percent of his body was burned.
Flames spread to the truck's cab, quickly engulfing it. Its windows blew out from the heat, and its diesel saddle tanks, also sustained damage.
People tried to help McGreevy. Police said several bystanders came forward with fire extinguishers. Firefighters, the first emergency responders at the scene, hosed down the cab.
Officer James Miles of the accident investigation unit was close behind.
After firefighters put out the flames, he and a paramedic moved in to help McGreevy, who was wedged face-down between his motorcycle and the underside of the truck. One leg was stuck; the other was tangled.
About a half-dozen paramedics and two supervisors deployed wooden chocks to hold the truck in place. They used one set of air bags -- square and about the size of a pillow -- to stabilize the vehicle and another set to actually lift it.
As for the dump truck driver I only hope justice is served appropiately :steamed:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04156/326761.stm
------------------------------------------------
Motorcyclist saved from under burning truck
Friday, June 04, 2004
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
John Beale, Post-Gazette
Rescue workers rush Mark McGreevy of Baldwin Borough to safety after the motorcyclist was saved from under a burning truck.
Click photo for larger image.
Battling flames, smoke and the potential for an explosion, emergency workers, struggling feverishly, yesterday liberated a motorcyclist and his mangled leg from beneath a 30,000-pound dump truck that had run him over outside the Armstrong Tunnels.
As the drama played out around noon on Forbes Avenue before scores of onlookers, 43-year-old Mark McGreevy of Baldwin Borough remained conscious and alert, talking to his rescuers through the pain.
With considerable risk to their own lives, paramedics, firefighters and police officers converged on the burning cab of the dump truck to mount a rescue effort.
"We were right in the middle of it with him. There was nothing else you could do," Pittsburgh Emergency Medical Services District Chief Thomas Broderick said after McGreevy was freed. "It was a scary situation."
Using special heavy-duty air bags and the Jaws of Life, paramedics managed to lift the vehicle off the badly burned McGreevy, who was plucked out and transferred to a stretcher.
John Beale, Post-Gazette
The charred motorcycle remains under the truck that caught fire on Forbes Avenue after McGrevy's rescue near the Armstrong Tunnels.
Click photo for larger image.
As rescuers rolled him toward a waiting ambulance, McGreevy could be seen with his eyes open, a heavily tattooed arm extended from his black, leather motorcycle jacket, a sheet draped over his legs. He was taken to Mercy Hospital, where he was in critical condition and undergoing surgery yesterday.
Just before the 11:50 a.m. accident, McGreevy had driven through the Armstrong Tunnels from the Monongahela River side toward the city's Uptown section. He turned right on Forbes Avenue at Duquesne University, followed by the dump truck, and stopped behind other traffic at a red light.
Driven by an unidentified 65-year-old Indiana County man, the dump truck had just delivered a load of gravel on Second Avenue and was en route to Kittanning to pick up another load, Pittsburgh police said.
Jamie Lako was driving behind the dump truck. Police couldn't have asked for a better witness; Lako, 35, of Lincoln Place, is an insurance claims adjuster. She said she saw the light on Forbes Avenue turn green. The truck driver blew his horn, apparently signaling to the motorcyclist to move.
"The guy picked his left leg up off the ground to go on the motorcycle, and the truck just ran him over, like he thought he was going to move faster than he did," Lako said.
She said she heard the truck's air brake release and saw his brake lights turn off.
"The truck just lurched, rear-ended him and wound up on top of the motorcycle."
The accident is under investigation by both homicide detectives and accident investigators. The driver, who works for Clarksburg Trucking Co. and was driving a vehicle owned by Taylor Services Inc. in Blairsville, had his blood drawn to test it for the presence of alcohol or drugs.
Even after McGreevy had been rescued, Lako remained shaken.
"He's screaming. Nobody could help him," said Lako, who was near tears. "He's like, 'Help me, get me out of here.' "
The gas tank on McGreevy's motorcycle apparently ruptured and leaking gasoline ignited. Authorities at the scene said McGreevy's legs were on fire. Police said more than 70 percent of his body was burned.
Flames spread to the truck's cab, quickly engulfing it. Its windows blew out from the heat, and its diesel saddle tanks, also sustained damage.
People tried to help McGreevy. Police said several bystanders came forward with fire extinguishers. Firefighters, the first emergency responders at the scene, hosed down the cab.
Officer James Miles of the accident investigation unit was close behind.
After firefighters put out the flames, he and a paramedic moved in to help McGreevy, who was wedged face-down between his motorcycle and the underside of the truck. One leg was stuck; the other was tangled.
About a half-dozen paramedics and two supervisors deployed wooden chocks to hold the truck in place. They used one set of air bags -- square and about the size of a pillow -- to stabilize the vehicle and another set to actually lift it.