posted Jul 10, 2008 - 6:55:15pm
UPDATED 7:53 P.M.: A man trapped in his overturned vehicle for half an hour after a dramatic wreck in DeLand today escaped with only a broken leg, DeLand Police reported.
The man was identified by Traffic Homicide Investigator M. Quinn as William Smith, 74, of South Adelle Avenue.
The two-vehicle crash closed West New York Avenue in DeLand shortly after 5 p.m. today, July 10. The driver of the other vehicle, 40-year-old Frances Mitchell of Sandy Ridge Trail in DeLand, was unhurt, police said. Neither Smith nor Mitchell had any passengers.
Quinn said Mitchell was northbound on Boundary Avenue and, as she crossed New York Avenue, her Mitsubishi pickup hit Smith's Nissan Pathfinder in the driver-side door.
The impact, Quinn said, shoved the Pathfinder into the curb, causing the SUV to flip. It landed on its roof at the northwest corner of the intersection of New York and Boundary Avenues. The wrecked Mitsubishi, its front end smashed, came to rest right behind the Nissan.
It first appeared Smith's injuries were possibly life-threatening. After a call about 7:30 p.m. to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Quinn reported Smith had only a broken leg. Both Smith and Mitchell were wearing seatbelts, and alcohol was not a factor in the crash, he said.
Mitchell will be charged with violation of right of way, Quinn said.
In addition to the DeLand Police and DeLand Fire Department, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and Volusia Fire Services responded to the scene after the call came in at 5:19 p.m. The crews worked together, Quinn said, to cut the driver-side doors and steering column off the Pathfinder and free the man.
The Sheriff's Office helicopter landed in the parking lot of Express Printing nearby, and the man was flown to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
At 6:30 p.m., police were working to clean up the scene and reopen the roadway.
Quinn said Mitchell reported she did not see the Nissan as she crossed New York Avenue. She did stop for the stop sign at Boundary and New York avenues, he said.
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