Crime & Safety

Firefighters Pull Trapped Teen Driver From Car Up in Flames

An out-of-control car crashed into a West Peabody home early Sunday morning, trapping the driver and catching fire.

One teenage male was transported to a Boston hospital early Sunday morning with injuries after the car he was driving crashed into a Herrick Road home and caught fire.

The responded to 48 Herrick Rd., which is near the Lynnfield town line, around 2:30 a.m. to find a motor vehicle up on its side, engulfed in flames, against one side of the single-story home.

WCVB-TV reported that an out-of-control car had crashed into the building and caught fire with the driver trapped inside. The home also caught fire.

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Firefighters were able to pull the teen from the car and he was taken to Mass. General Hospital for treatment while crews knocked down heavy fire on one side of the house.

Capt. Dale Kimball, who was on scene with Engine 7, said he and firefighters Paul Rheaume, Paul LaPlante and Steve Pellegrini were the ones to rescue the teen.

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Kimball said the car was "fully involved" in flames and the engine block had come out.

"It was a total team effort," he said, one for which Peabody can be proud of its firefighters, he added. If not for the timely response, the teen's life might not have been saved, Kimball confirmed.

Chief Steven Pasdon, who was not at the scene himself, said Sunday afternoon that Kimball's team and the other crews at the scene "did a great job," averting possible tragedy.

Deputy Fire Chief Paul Lynch told WCVB-TV that it was one of the worst accidents he's seen in a while and that it was a difficult rescue, although Kimball and co. were eventually able to pull the driver out the passenger side window.

He said heavy smoke, flames and melting plastic inside the vehicle were making the officers choke as they rescued the victim.

Lynch said there was also another rollover crash elsewhere in the city at the same time, splitting the department's resources.

Around 2:50 a.m., firefighters reported they had combed the house a second time and confirmed there was no on one inside.

Kimball said firefighters had to break into the house initially to check if anyone was home. He said the damage to the exterior of the building was only superficial.

Fire crews were on scene for approximately two hours. Kimball said the Police Department is investigating what initially led to the accident and caused the car to go off the road.


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