Rockwell, NC : Driver airlifted in serious Rowan County crash on Thursday morning, March 9, 2017

A driver survived after smashing a tow truck into a tree in Rockwell Thursday morning.

The wreck happened around 11:46 a.m. in the 10000 block of Old Beatty Ford Road, shutting the area down for a time.

Troopers say the driver, 70-year-old Terry Childers, ran off the road to the right, overcorrected to get back on track, ran off the road to left, and went into a ditch before slamming into the tree.

A neighbor said the sound of the impact was unlike anything she had ever heard, describing it as sounding like a "bomb had gone off."

Childers was pinned in the cab of the truck for more than 45 minutes before being rescued and airlifted to the hospital.

Firefighters from the Rockwell Rural Fire Department worked alongside members of the Rowan Rescue Squad in the effort to free Childers from the truck.

“Incredible teamwork. There’s 4 or 5 departments out here working together to help that guy that’s pretty much in a mess," said Rowan Rescue Chief Eddie Cress. “His rollback hit a tree head on and he is pinned in and we have to do a lot of things to get that gentleman out. From medical intervention, got the IV started and we had to use the Hurst tools, jaws of life, some spreaders and cutters, to actually move the dash off of his lap and cut off piece by piece to get room to get him free from that truck he’s in.”

Cress pointed out that the truck was wedged so tightly against the tree that it presented quite an obstacle for rescue workers.

"The original plan was just to winch the truck back off the tree, give us plenty of room to work around the cab, and because the truck bumper was wrapped around the tree, the winch was not enough to move the truck," Cress added. "The truck was in gear, the rear end locked down, it won’t just freely winch backwards, so we had to move the truck sideways off the tree before we could move it backwards to give us room to work around the cab and free him.”

The ongoing effort paid off as Childers was eventually freed from the cab.

“If I know Chief Cress is planning and Chief Cress knows what I am planning, it makes it so much easier," added Rockwell Rural Chief Alan Shinn. "We train together so it makes it so much easier.”

A witness told troopers they believe speed was a factor.

Source :
Driver airlifted in serious Rowan County crash