Hands crushed; woman dies for help with toes

In her efforts to change a flat tire, a woman's hands were crushed when the jack slipped, causing the car to fall and crush her hands. She dialed 911 with her toes.

By SIMONE JASPER - THE STATE, COLUMBIA, S.C.

February 4, 2020 - 11:55 AM

A driver used her toes to call 911 after she was trapped along a South Carolina interstate, officials say.

The 54-year-old Charlotte woman was driving north on Interstate 95 when her car had a flat tire on Sunday night, Colleton County Fire-Rescue said in a news release.

“She removed the flat tire and was replacing it with the spare, when the jack slipped causing the car to fall, crushing both of her hands between the tire and the fender,” the news release said.

Amid the “excruciating pain,” a clever thought came into her head, firefighters say.

She took off her shoe and got a grasp on her cellphone, according to rescuers. After about 35 minutes, she managed to dial 911 with her foot, according to officials.

Rescuers rushed to the scene, a “rural stretch” of interstate in Colleton County, part of the state’s Lowcountry region, WCSC reports.

To get the woman’s hand from underneath the car, rescuers used lifting tools and deflated her tire, according to the news release. She was taken to a hospital with serious hand injuries, the release said.

While changing tires, AAA encourages drivers to avoid putting their body parts “under the wheel while it is on the car or between the wheel and the car in the wheel well.”