Truck plunges over 15 feet; driver flown to hospital

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Posted: 11:07 PM Dec 27, 2008
Last Updated: 11:08 PM Dec 27, 2008
Reporter: Josh Stevenson
Email Address: josh.stevenson@kxii.com

14 comments

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Highway 69 in Denison was shut down early Saturday after the accident.

A Dodge pickup truck was headed Eastbound on HWY 84 when, according to police, the driver failed to negotiate a turn that caused the vehicle to plunge over 15 feet into a ravine.

While it’s still unclear when the crash happened, authorities say the man might have been trapped at the bottom of that ravine since Friday night.

Police say a passing motorist heard cries for help and called 911. The man was rescued around 1:30 Saturday afternoon and taken by helicopter to Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

The name of the driver has not been released, and no word on his condition.

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Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

Posted by: Anonymous on Jan 6, 2009 at 09:03 AM
Does anyone ever ride in a ambulance anymore?

Posted by: fireman Location: Denison on Dec 31, 2008 at 07:23 PM
Just a quick comment about waiting at the hospital. Once a person is delivered to the hospital, it is the their decision to prioritize and treat. They dont make our rules and we don't make thiers. There are some people who call 911 because they think it means no waiting. There are some that are not able to get their family member in a car safely. If you call, we will come. Period. It's our job.

Posted by: local vocal Location: D E N I S O N on Dec 30, 2008 at 03:16 PM
I don't know about you but i would much rather any part of the city employees be short handed rather than see our Fire/Police leaving for higher pay or less work. We all know they do. Denison can't compete with the market of Fire/Medical people. Our pay is drastically below what is payed just a few miles down the road. So Denison continues to lose their skilled men to other cities the taxpayer expense. I would rather lighten their workload and hire a few extra men and raise their pay to compete with other cities rather than train 1 fireman to go to Mckinney , Sherman, Plano, etc.. Think about that.. citizens....Lets give those men who stay here and work for peanuts a pat on the back because they do save lives. I Now now why they shut the highway down. Its because they need the room to land that bird. its a safety thing.. why doesnt The FD assign someone to educate the citizens? Id like to see the citizens informed of the hows and whys wouldnt you? Thank you Denison Firemen.

Posted by: Denison Family Location: Taxpayer also on Dec 30, 2008 at 03:09 PM
The Fire dept does a wonderful job. They transported me with my 1st heart attack which saved my life. My daughter was in a car wreck with her mom when they were both flown to a real hospital. Thank god these men are trained to make these decisions. As far as ungrateful You need to take one of these men aside and thank them for what they each do for this community. They go above and beyond. Ungrateful isnt even realistic. Thats terrible. Why would the Denison Taxpayer even take offense to the fireman unless he wanted to abuse 911. They obviously survived the the 4 hour wait at the hospital. But thats nothing to do with the firemen and thats not a reason to call 911 just because you dont want to wait.. You might consider another hospital?? it angers me to see Denison train these men only to lose them to plano,mckinney etc. I know first hand about the fireman because my son has worked for Denison for his entire career.I know about 911 abuse. Some of our lives depend on ems.TyFD

Posted by: emt Location: next door to fireman on Dec 30, 2008 at 01:34 PM
There a certain things that are considered an emergency. Things like trauma, fractures, chest pain, stroke. leg and back pain of 20 yrs and swelling of the extremity are not true 911 emergencies. I think what the fireman was saying is that alot of people call 911 for anything. It should be reserved for true emergencies that are life threatening. And yes i rode out with Denison and Sherman as a student and 90% of what they do is not life threatening and would be considered abuse of the system. Who pays this?? Medicare, Medicaid(80% payed), Private Insurance and alot is written off as a loss. But as long as the govt keeps picking up the tab why not call 911 for each little ache and pain, headache, or nausea we can think of. Most of the abusers either have no intention of paying this bill anyway. And those who just didnt want to sit and wait (that should be taken up with the hospital) But none of us should abuse the ems because we didnt want to wait.

Posted by: denison man Location: denison on Dec 30, 2008 at 01:22 PM
seems to me that the Denison Taxpayer should be crying to the hospital about their triage skill .. But im confused how the Denison Fireman is ungrateful? We all know the fd is understaffed and underpaid. I dont think any of those men are ungrateful. I know several of them and they are like most other people in that they do that work because they enjoy helping others. As far as the accident why didnt your daughter ride the ambulance? But again i dont see how the Fireman was ungrateful? All city employees wear many hats and share numerous responsibilities throughout the city. (as a 20yr city employee)Its not the city employees fault that much of their depts are overworked and understaffed but its not about being ungrateful. Its simply a hardship of a limited budget and resources. We do the best we can with whats available. I dont know of any city employee who is ungrateful. And we pay the same taxes you do Denison Taxpayer.

Posted by: taxpaying citizen Location: Denison on Dec 30, 2008 at 10:36 AM
To Denison Fireman: It is very evident that you are ungrateful of the taxpaying citizens as you have mentioned that you are overworked and underpaid. Maybe you should re-think you profession! There are people who pay taxes that are extremely greatful of the services you provide. I was involved in a car accident that was not my fault and could have been prevented, in which I drove my daughter to the ER and sat for over FOUR hours for an automobile injury that did not take precidence over some of the others who happend to be in with a stomach virus! It upsets me that you can be so hurtful with your careless words. Yes, there are still some responisble adults in Denison who do NOT think that EMS=TAXI!!!

Posted by: Leroy Location: Out There> on Dec 30, 2008 at 09:25 AM
Fireman, who are you saying abuses 911 for an ambulance? Also, if 99% of the transports are unwarranted, why do them? Don't the people get charged for this? I'm not ragging on you,or looking for an argument, I seriously want to know. Maybe I'm a bit naive, thinking everyone who needs an ambulance, really needs one?

Posted by: Anonymous on Dec 29, 2008 at 07:20 PM
NOT ALL PEOPLE THINK EMS = TAXI,SO THINK BEFORE YOU MAKE ANOTHER DUMB COMMENT.MAYBE YOU SHOULD NOT BE A DENISON FIREMAN

Posted by: Denison Fireman Location: Denison on Dec 29, 2008 at 06:06 PM
We fly more people now than ever as a result of not having a trauma center, orthopedic surgeon,or neurology available. Our hospitals locally are inadequate at the least. PCI , Care Flight, and Lifestar are utilized by the F.D. for all transports meeting flight criteria. A landing zone typically will have at least 100x100 feet without any obstructions. When you consider this space necessary we usually transport a critically ill patient from the accident to the established landing site. These twin turbine helicopters like the crew, and men on the ground arent cheap. They save lives. Ask anyone who has been transported by the Denison F.D. see what kind of service these men provide. They are overworked,underpaid,understaffed and still save lives 24/7. Think of that next time you and your family abuse the 911 system for an ambulance because you just dont want to wait at the ER. You can get to the hospital in your car.99% of our transports can and should go by car.People think ems=taxi

Posted by: Zyklon B Location: Sherman on Dec 29, 2008 at 11:42 AM
Bet he didn't care for that 2nd flight to the hospital!

Posted by: Leroy Location: Out There> on Dec 29, 2008 at 06:51 AM
I came upon this accident. It's where 84 T's into 69/75. Apparently, they were landing the chopper on 69, so they closed off the whole intersection. I know it's kinda dumb, when they could have just used 84 and left 69 open, cause it really didn't have anything to do with the wreck.

Posted by: confused Location: denison on Dec 28, 2008 at 10:19 PM
So was it HWY 69 or 84 that was shut down? KXII's information reports BOTH highways as being shut down for this accident???

Posted by: Mork Location: Ork on Dec 28, 2008 at 01:04 PM
I'm still trying to figure out why Hwy 69 gets shut down for an accident on Hwy 84?

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