A Cortez man who became trapped under his truck on Fourth Street was rescued by Cortez Fire Protection District crews Friday morning. He was not injured.
The man was changing the oil on his pickup when he became wedged under the skid plate for the transmission, said Chief Jay Balfour. The truck was not jacked up.
“He was stuck, not pinned,” he said. “It did not fall on him. We got him out, and he’s OK.”
Fire crews arrived within a few minutes of the 911 call. They blocked up the truck’s tires, then inflated specialized bags and used cribbing to safely lift the body of the truck enough so the man could escape.
“I feel better now, a little embarrassed,” the man said as he dusted himself off and thanked rescue crews. He got back to work on his truck.
Balfour said they respond about once per year to a person stuck under a vehicle. Sometimes it is because a jacked up vehicle fell and pins the person. The department regularly trains for such emergencies, and had just done so recently.
If you need to jack up a vehicle, always block up the tires, use jack stands, put the transmission in ‘park,’ and put the emergency brake on, Balfour said.