A Morgan Hill resident was flown to the hospital with moderate
head trauma after he made a U-turn in front of a big rig on Highway
156 and had to be extricated by emergency personnel using the Jaws
of Life Wednesday.
A Morgan Hill resident was flown to the hospital with moderate head trauma after he made a U-turn in front of a big rig on Highway 156 and had to be extricated by emergency personnel using the Jaws of Life Wednesday.
The 17-year-old Morgan Hill resident was flown to San Jose Medical Center with lacerations to his face and was fading in and out of consciousness after a collision on Highway 156 and Buena Vista Road at 8:45 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
The juvenile was driving a 1997 Ford Taurus eastbound on Highway 156 when he realized he was going the wrong direction, so he pulled onto the right-hand shoulder of the road and proceeded to make a U-turn into the path of a big rig, said CHP Officer Terry Mayes.
The 1998 Freight Liner, driven by Tracy resident Serafin Serrano, was traveling around 45 mph but was able to brake and substantially slow down before hitting the front end of the Taurus, Mayes said.
Serrano and his passenger, Tracy resident Freddy Linares were not injured.
The juvenile was trapped inside the car and it took firefighters from both the California Department of Forestry and the Hollister Fire Department using the Jaws of Life about 20 minutes to get him out, said firefighter Frank Cervantes.
“We took off the whole roof of the vehicle – he was pinned in pretty good,” Cervantes said. “We both had our equipment going so it worked out really well – it was a smooth operation.”
The Taurus sustained major front-end damage and the semi had damage to the front and side portion, Mayes said.
