Just after 4 p.m. Wednesday, Bradley County Emergency Medical Service responded one ambulance and a paramedic supervisor to Old Tasso Road and Blythe Ferry Road for a report of a pickup truck that had struck a tree. When units arrived on the scene, they found a small pickup truck had left the roadway and impacted a tree with the driver’s door. Eyewitnesses stated the driver appeared to have lost traction on the wet roadway and slid out of control. The 53-year-old male driver was the only occupant in the vehicle. To safely remove the driver from the truck, responders decided to cut the tree down to allow access to the driver’s door. Cleveland Fire Department personnel used a chainsaw to take the tree down and then proceeded to extricate the man after removing the door with hydraulic spreaders. Crews safely removed the injured driver from the wreckage and he was transported to SkyRidge Medical Center in serious, but stable, condition. The Cleveland Police Department was in charge of the investigation. Photo courtesy of STAN CLARK