WINONA, Minn. – Firefighters made a difficult rescue of a driver pinned under a minivan dangling on a 10-foot embankment over Shive Creek on the Far East End. The man, identified initially only as a 40-year-old man, was taken a few blocks the Winona hospital with a mangled right foot. This was about 5:15 p.m. on the Shive Creek outlet from Lake Winona. Here is the Fire Department after-action report:
> The victim was on the backside of a building, prone with his with his legs pinned under the minivan’s dashboard. The driver’s side door was open and partially pinning him to the ground.
> The vehicle was on the edge of the embankment with the rear wheels hanging over. It was 10 feet down to Shive Creek and steep.
> Firefighters deployed cribbing to create wheel chocks and used a winch to secure the vehicle from rolling down the embankment.
> An ambulance crew kept the victim in place while firefighters stabilized the vehicle.
> The victim’s right foot remained tangled between the lower dash and the emergency brake pedal. Firefighters cut off the car door and attempted to “roll the dash” using a hydraulic ram. It didn’t work.
> Firefighters sawed away the emergency brake pedal and plastic from the lower dash, then used a small pry bar to remove materials adjacent to the victim’s trapped foot. This created enough room to free the foot.
> The victim was back-boarded to the ambulance.
> A tow company pulled the vehicle to level ground