Woman dials 911 with her toes

  • Woman's 911 call for help

Posted

A 54-year-old Charlotte, N.C., woman used some innovative thinking after her hands were crushed and she became trapped while changing a tire on a dark section of I-95 near the 68-mile marker Sunday evening Feb. 2 at 6:57 p.m.

The woman’s car suffered a flat tire while traveling northbound and was forced to pull over into the breakdown lane. She removed the flat tire and was replacing it with the spare when the jack slipped, causing the car to fall and crushing both of her hands between the tire and the fender.

She was trapped alone on the side of the dark interstate, experiencing excruciating pain. Over the next 35 minutes, she was able to slip off one shoe and manipulate her cell phone. After many attempts, she was able to dial 9-1-1 with her toes and advise them of her predicament.

Fire-Rescue units were dispatched to the rural stretch of I-95. Units arrived about eight minutes later, having just cleared up from another incident in the area.

They used a prybar without success and then deflated the tire to remove the air; however, the car just dropped as the tire deflated. Using the prybar, they were able to free one hand. Another unit arrived a short time later and the crew deployed a hydraulic spreader to lift the car. This freed her other hand.

The woman said she was trapped for about 45 minutes.

She suffered severe damage to both hands and all fingers. Firefighter-paramedics treated her injuries, administered pain medications, then transported her to the Trauma Center at Trident Hospital by ambulance.