A man was taken to hospital on Sunday after being rescued from the wreckage of a multi-vehicle collision on the Princes Freeway.
Emergency service responders rushed to the scene of the crash in Officer at about 5.45pm on Sunday 28 November, after reports came through of a multi-vehicle pile up in the inbound lanes, involving a truck and numerous cars.
Pakenham SES spokesperson Shayne Honey said that both SES and CFA volunteers attended the scene and quickly worked together to try and free a man who was trapped in his vehicle.
“Volunteers from the Pakenham Road Rescue Unit (Pakenham SES and Nar Nar Goon CFA) were called to a collision on the freeway with reports that one driver was trapped,“ Mr Honey said.
“On arrival, we found the driver of a Hyundai Accent was trapped.
“With the assistance of FRV Pakenham we were able to gain access to the patient so that paramedics could treat him.
“Using specialist rescue tools, the crew performed a side removal (cutting off the driver and rear passenger doors), creating room to be able to assist paramedics removing the driver from the vehicle.“
Mr Honey said that “the driver was freed after being trapped for approximately 40 minutes“ and then taken to hospital by ambulance.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson confirmed that paramedics had treated a man in his 40s at the scene and later transported him “in a stable condition“ to hospital.
“Paramedics were called to an incident in Officer (Princes Freeway) at around 5.45pm on Sunday 28 November,“ the spokesperson said.
“A man in his 40s was taken to the Alfred Hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries.“
Mr Honey said that overall, the rescue had been a successful collaborative effort between all emergency crews in attendance.
“Great work by SES, CFA, FRV and paramedics working together to free the driver,“ he said.
