From staff reports
Late Tuesday morning, June 13, Burton firefighters rescued a female driver from a single vehicle wreck on Trask Parkway that caused both eastbound lanes to be blocked.
Just past 11 a.m., a Sheldon Fire District chief officer who was driving on Trask Parkway came upon a passenger vehicle that was off the road in the pluff mud in the area of 1980 Trask Parkway. While unable to reach the vehicle due to the pluff mud, he notified Beaufort County Dispatch that the driver appeared to be unresponsive and requested additional resources respond to the scene.
A Burton Fire District fire engine from Grays Hill and Beaufort County EMS arrived moments later. Due to the driver’s apparent medical condition and no information about the possibility of other passengers inside the vehicle, Burton firefighters utilized a 24-foot ladder from their engine to make a bridge and cross the mud to reach the vehicle. Burton Fire Captain/Paramedic Steve Kenyon was first to arrive at the vehicle and confirmed only one occupant inside, a female driver, who appeared to be having a medical emergency and was unresponsive.
Burton Fire District’s ladder truck arrived on scene and crews used the large 105-foot ladder to reach the vehicle with medical equipment and a rescue basket. Firefighters stabilized the driver, placed her in the rescue basket, and removed her to waiting EMS crews where she was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
Traffic on Trask Parkway was delayed for more 45 minutes while emergency crews operated. The condition of the driver was unknown at press time.
