Trapped by Falling Timber: Washington Township Firefighters Free Pinned Driver off Garden State Parkway

Washington, NJ - Firefighters from the Township of Washington Fire Department executed a precision extrication operation Tuesday evening, utilizing hydraulic rescue tools to free a motorist trapped against a tree branch after an electric vehicle careened off the Garden State Parkway.

Emergency personnel were alerted at approximately 7:58 p.m. on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, following reports of a serious single-vehicle crash with suspected entrapment along the southbound corridor of the Garden State Parkway. The responding fire chief arrived on scene to discover an electric passenger vehicle that had veered completely off the paved roadway and traveled deep into a densely wooded buffer.

While an occupant in the passenger seat managed to self-extricate prior to the arrival of first responders, the driver was physically pinned inside the cabin by a large tree branch that had penetrated or crushed against the vehicle during the impact.

Fire crews established stabilization lines and deployed the department’s Holmatro hydraulic cutting and spreading tools to systematically sever the driver's door hinges and remove surrounding branches and wreckage.

Firefighters worked methodically through the tight exterior brush to relieve mechanical pressure on the driver without compromising the structural integrity of the passenger compartment.

Once cleared from the entangled cabin, the driver was evaluated and treated by personnel from Westwood EMS, who prepared the patient for safe field transfer to a waiting ambulance and transport to a nearby hospital for further clinical care.