Firefighters rescue city worker trapped after southwest Fresno collision

Fresno firefighters Wednesday morning rescued a city trapped in his truck after a two-vehicle collision in southwest Fresno.

East Jensen and South Elm avenues were shut down for several hours after the crash, which snarled traffic along the major intersection.

Fire spokesman Jonathan Lopez said neither the driver of the city vehicle nor the driver of an SUV involved in the collision suffered major injuries, but both were taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Firefighters called in their urban rescue team to free the city worker from the overturned truck. The team is equipped with inflatable airbags that can lift a vehicle off a victim. But the rescuers instead opted to used jacks and “cribbing” to free him. “Cribbing” consists of wooding blocks to hold the vehicle in place once it is lifted to create room to remove the driver.

Lopez said the intersection would likely be closed for several hours as the crash is investigated.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 12:52 PM.