A man is being brought to safety by fireboat after his car careened a couple of hundred feet off the GW Parkway in Arlington.
The crash happened just before 6 p.m., on the Parkway near Donaldson Run, amid treacherous driving conditions from today’s winter storm. The driver — the only occupant of the vehicle — was trapped inside the car and suspended upside down, with a broken arm and leg, according to initial reports.
First responders were able to reach the vehicle despite “complex access issues,” using ropes to lower themselves down the embankment while fire boats assisted near the shoreline.
After being extricated from the vehicle, the man is now being brought to a waiting ambulance at Columbia Island Marina via D.C. fire boat.
More via Twitter:
#Final – patient extricated and lowered down to an awaiting @dcfireems boat. That boat will bring the patient to an ambulance standing by at a nearby marina, where the ambulance will transport to an area hospital.
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) January 3, 2022
Update: Rescuers have reached the auto. Driver (only occupant?) is still conscious. This is a complicated rescue because the extrication tools are difficult to get to the site. DC fireboat is assisting. https://t.co/mjezg5ORwW
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) January 3, 2022
Update: Man has been extricated and is being taken by boat to marina. He is still conscious. @ARLnowDOTcom NEWS PHOTO (from DC Palisades) by @Boburnett604 https://t.co/Vx21VXBrly pic.twitter.com/jRWKqyXSBV
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) January 3, 2022