2 SAVED FROM TEETERING VAN
Fast-acting rescuers pulled two people, one in a wheelchair, from a van teetering 18 feet above the ground after an crash with a taxi sent them careening through a construction barrier in the Fenway.
“Rescue Company 2 did a great job,” said Boston fire spokesman Marc Sanders. “The vehicle was placed in a very difficult area. They were able to rapidly secure the vehicle with chock blocks very quickly and safely. They did an excellent job.”
The van was forced off the road and through a barrier after a collision with a taxi at the intersection of Beacon and Maitland streets, Sanders said.
The collision occurred about 4:40 p.m., sending the vehicles in opposite directions.
All three people involved in the crash were pulled from the vehicles, two from the hanging van and one from the taxi. All three were transported to area hospitals.
Sanders said the extent of their injuries were unknown.
He said rescuers jammed chock blocks under the grounded wheels of the van to keep it from going over an embankment overlooking a construction site.
A winch was also used to secure the vehicle as rescuers extracted two people through the rear of the van.
The driver of the taxi ended up on the side of the road on Maitland Street after the crash.
Sanders said the passenger side of the cab was significantly damaged.
“They did it in a very timely manner considering that the van was teetering over an 18-foot drop,” Sanders said.
“The taxi cab was more fortunate,” Sanders said. “The van was our main concern.”