By Dennis Box
The Courier-Herald
A two-vehicle, head-on collision Saturday night resulted in four people sustaining serious injuries.
The collision took place at 10:20 p.m. near the intersection of 234th Avenue East and South Prairie Road.
A late model Toyota pickup with two men inside traveling at a high rate of speed collided with a four-door Hyundai Accent sedan, injuring a young woman and her 15-year-old sister.
Pierce County Sheriff's deputies estimated the pickup, headed east on South Prairie Road, was traveling more than 100 mph when it hit the Hyundai.
The force of the impact tore the pickup into three pieces with the cab flipped over on the side of the road, the bed and chassis several yards away and the engine in the ditch.
The Hyundai's front end was smashed into the dash, pinning the women's legs. Rescue workers used the Jaws of Life, a hydraulic extraction tool, to cut open the top of the sedan's roof and reach the women.
The Jaws of Life and leverage devices were used to remove the men, estimated to be in their 30s, who were pinned inside the cab.
It took the emergency crew about 30 minutes to get all the injured out of the vehicles.
“In my career I have never seen such complete destruction and the people survive,” said East Pierce Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Russ McCallion.
McCallion stated when emergency personnel arrived, they initially thought three or four vehicles were involved.
According to McCallion, the two men were taken to the trauma center at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma with what appeared to be serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
The 15-year-old woman was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with multiple leg fractures.
Her sister was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup and later transferred to Harborview for more specialized care.
Three East Pierce emergency medical units responded, volunteer crews from South Prairie and District 12 and three American Medical Response units from Buckley and Sumner arrived at the scene along with Pierce County Sheriff's deputies.
The Sheriff's Department is investigating the possibility of alcohol as a factor in the accident.
According to East Pierce officials, a journal was found open next to the women's car. The first line of the journal read, “Ten things I want to do before I die.”
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.
