MADERA COUNTY – First responders were dispatched to the Central Camp area Saturday night after a 911 call about a car in the creek below the bridge near Whiskers Campground.
It was reported that a vehicle had crashed through the guard rail and timbers on the bridge, and was lying on it’s top, wedged between two rocks in the granite creek bed.
Though the call came in at 7:44 p.m., there is no cell service in that area so it is unknown exactly what time the accident happened. The person who reported the crash said there was some water in the cab of the vehicle, but that the driver was responsive.
Cal Fire, Madera County Fire, Sierra Ambulance, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office, the Forest Service and CHP responded to the scene, which was eight miles up Central Camp Road from Road 274. That eight miles is an unpaved track full of holes and rocks, and takes some time to navigate.
SkyLife air ambulance was dispatched and set down at North Fork School to transport the patient if needed.
First responders on the scene found a 32-year-old male who had been trapped for an extended period of time, and had sustained multiple injuries. Madera County Fire Engine 18 came equipped with the Jaws of Life, but rescuers were able to free the man without utilizing them.
Though the victim was rescued from the crashed vehicle and delivered to the waiting ambulance, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased during transport to the air ambulance.
The name of the victim has not been released. He was reportedly a resident of Fresno.
