Man trapped by guard rail stuck through window

Volunteer fireman Roy Reyes and Bryan Graham work hard to cut through a tough guard rail at a wreck that occurred near Biry.

A young man in his twenties is alive miraculously after surviving a wreck in which a guard rail pierced through the driver’s side window of his truck and across the entire cab, pinning him in, according to volunteers on scene. He is believed to have been traveling home to Kingsville with family members at the time, who were on scene during the rescue. He was the only one in his truck .
The Ford F-250 4×4 he was driving was pulling a golf cart on a flatbed trailer, both of which ended up separated from the truck and in the field. The golf cart was in many pieces. A second vehicle, a Ford Focus, was also involved in the accident. Its passengers were treated and released at the scene. They were both traveling in the same direction towards Devine. The Focus had damage to the front end of the vehicle coming to a rest shortly before the side of the guard rail near the truck.
Rescue workers from the Devine and Natalia volunteer fire departments worked diligently on ladders and atop the truck, which was at an angle and about five feet off the ground, resting on top of the posts of the guard rail in Biry.
“Due to the terrain, the degree of angle the vehicle was resting, the culvert and the 5 foot drop, it was challenging,” said Natalia VFD Assistant Chief Gilbert Rodriguez. “We had to use ladders to get up to him. We assisted Devine Fire with the extrication. We had to remove the driver’s door, then the square tubing railing (which the guard rail normally attached too) which had completely gone through the cab and was sticking out at least five inches on the passenger side, as well as cut off the roof of the cab to remove the young man. He was pinned in the small confined space of the truck, what we call the living area. His legs were pinned but his seat was laid back. I’d say his slender build, the angle he was sitting, and the Good Lord looking out for him, all contributed to why he survived this accident.”
The accident happened near the Biry,Texas sign on Highway 173 about eight miles north of Devine and Hondo, which is near the Devine ESD/ Hondo ESD fire district border. Community EMS responded from Hondo and called in Methodist Air Care, which transported the patient in the truck once they were able to get him out.
Responding from Devine VFD were: Daniel Thomas, Robert Scott, Alex Rodriguez and Jessica Meeks with Units 240 and 244. Responding from Natalia VFD were: Chief Chuck Brown, Assistant Chief Gilbert Rodriguez, Chuck Byrd, Mable Byrd, Cory Bradley, Saul Castillano, Roy Reyes, and Byran Graham.
By Kathleen Calame
Publisher