FORT SMITH (KFSM) — Police in Fort Smith were hard at work Thursday morning (August 27), freeing a driver who was trapped inside his smoking vehicle after driving it off Spradling Avenue and through a metal fence in front of a home .
Patrolman Andrew Adams with Fort Smith Police was driving through the area around 6 a.m. when he noticed smoke filling the front yard of the home located at 4000 Spradling. The officer then notified the fire department, and began trying to pinpoint where the smoke was coming from. “The smoke was thick enough that you could barely see the truck at that point”, Adams said. “The whole yard was full of smoke, so it was pretty hard to make my way to the vehicle because of all of the smoke.”
Adams then realized someone was inside the smoking vehicle, and immediately began trying to rescue the driver, who was in and out of consciousness and incoherent, police said.
As the smoke began to clear, officers were able to talk to the driver, who was beginning to regain consciousness. The driver told first responders he couldn’t remember running off the road, or hitting the fence.
Officers said the driver was taken by ambulance to an area hospital. Police also saying that it was possible that the driver was suffering from a medical condition prior to the accident.
The truck came within a few feet from hitting a home where a family was asleep. The family told 5NEWS that they were happy the driver seemed to be okay, but are a little shaken up.
