Louisiana Firefighters Rescue Seriously Injured Woman from Canal Car Wreck

Baton Rouge firefighters used ropes and ladders to rescue a woman who was seriously injured in a violent car wreck Sunday morning.

The woman, who has not been identified, crashed into a steep bank canal near Old Hammond Way and landed in roughly one foot of water, the Baton Rouge Fire Department (BRFD) said in a release Monday.

Three crews from the department, including Engine 13, Ladder 6, and Rescue 93, responded to the scene at 7:55 a.m. Firefighters with Ladder 6 laid several 24-foot ladders across the canal so personnel could access the victim and crash scene, the BRFD said. As she sustained substantial injuries, she could not remove herself from the vehicle, so the Engine 13 crew, along with EMS personnel, began “patient care.”

Rescue 93’s crew used ropes to establish a “low angle haul system.” Low-angle haul systems are used in rescues where victims and rescue units need to be pulled up a slope with an angle of 0-30 degrees, according to the Connecticut Fire Academy.

Once in place and EMS was ready, both Rescue 93’s and Engine 13’s crew members worked to load the patient onto a spine board before securing her in a basket, the BRFD said. With the basket fastened to the haul system, the victim was lifted out of the canal.

“Amazing job by all on scene,” the department said in its release.

No further information has been released.