SILVER SPRING, MD – Maryland State Trooper Jason Reid was commended this week for quick thinking that led him to rescue an entrapped tow truck driver after he was pinned down by a car he was attempting to tow.
According to the Maryland State Police, shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Trooper Jason Reid, who is assigned to the Rockville Barracks, was on the scene of a motor vehicle crash on the ramp from eastbound I-495 to southbound Colesville Road (US 29) in Silver Spring.
“According to a preliminary investigation, a tow truck operator was on the scene working on removing the vehicles involved in the crash. The tow truck driver, a 51-year-old male, was working on getting a Chevrolet Equinox onto the back of his tow truck,” police said. “While the driver was attempting to attach the winch to the underside of the vehicle, the Chevrolet Equinox slipped off the back of the tow truck bed and fell on top of him.”
The Maryland State Police gave a detailed account of the rescue:
Reid saw what happened, and despite having no previous training on the equipment, he was able to use the tow truck’s controls to lower the tow truck’s bed to the ground and re-position it underneath the front of the Chevrolet Equinox.
Trooper Reid then used the rear of the tow truck’s bed to lift the car off of the victim and then pull him away from the vehicle.
The driver was transported to Suburban Hospital for treatment of his injuries.