February 15, 2001

PRESS RELEASE

To: Newsroom

For Immediate Release

Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer

Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

Woman Overturns Vehicle on Youree Drive

A Shreveport woman who said that she may have fallen asleep at the wheel, crashed into a telephone pole and flipped her late model Chevrolet Impala this afternoon in the 3300 block of Youree Drive. Rose Ellington, 72, was traveling north on Youree Dire around 10:20 a.m. when the car she was driving stuck and split a telephone pole and then rolled over coming to rest across both northbound lanes of Youree.

Firefighters were dispatched to the accident at 10:27 a.m. and on their arrival found Ellington pinned upside down in her car. Crews were forced to remove Ellington through the passenger side window of the inverted vehicle, as the drivers side window opening was flattened. Remarkably, and more than likely, due to her seatbelt being on and air bag deploying, Ellington only received minor injuries. She was treated on the scene by department paramedics and transported to Christus-Schumpert Highland Hospital for further evaluation.

Firefighters had to use sand on the roadway because of oil that spilled from a ruptured transformer that was connected to the splintered telephone pole. Several businesses in the area were left without power while Southwestern Electric Power Company worked to repair the damage.

Pictures of the incident will be viewable in the emergency scene picture gallery of the department’s web page at www.shreveportfire.org

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