Thanks, Jaws

First there was a loud crash, the sound of metal crashing into metal, and then a couple seconds later a final “thud” was heard.

Pacific Beach residents witnessed a three-vehicle accident that left a driver trapped in her car at about 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 3.

A late-model Honda Civic coupe heading north on the 4700 block of Mission Boulevard crashed into the driver's side door of a Nissan Sentra that was heading west onto the boulevard from the mid-block alley on the east side of the street.

After being hit by the Honda, the female driver of the Nissan reportedly lost consciousness and rolled into a truck in an off-street parking area. She was then trapped in her car, awaiting the arrival of a San Diego Fire-Rescue team.

“The Sentra pulled out of the alley and the blue Civic sort of T-boned it,” described a nearby resident named Adam. “It hit the side of the Nissan and kinda knocked this girl out and she rolled into the truck parked in the spot over there. She was trapped in the car. They had to get the Jaws of Life to cut her out.”

The Jaws of Life is a hydraulic cutting tool used to rescue victims who are trapped in cars. Firefighters worked steadily with the tool to free the young lady from the driver’s seat of the Sentra, cutting and separating metal for nearly 15 minutes before she was able to be taken by paramedics to a hospital.

Police officers diverted traffic and gathered details for investigation. The parked truck suffered minor damage to the front quarter-panel; the two moving cars involved in the accident needed to be towed away. Officers spoke with the driver of the Honda and made no arrests.