Photos courtesy of Ryan ZumMallen.
Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers were dispatched to Belmont Shore at 2:04PM today in regard to a traffic collision along 2nd St.’s pedestrian-heavy shopping district.
Upon arrival, a white convertible was found on its driver side in front of Billings Paint & Hardware on 2nd between Argonne and Granada Ave. According to Jake Heflin of the Long Beach Fire Department, the female driver of the overturned car hit a parked car before landing on its side.
Heflin went onto note that, by happenstance, off-duty LA County Battalion Chief and Long Beach native Scott Salhus was having lunch with his wife at the nearby Urban Table market and restaurant when the collision occurred. Salhus attempted to open the door, failed, and asled someone to go into Billings to grab a box cutter.
“The man who grabbed the box cutters began to cut the cloth of the convertible while I tried to figure out another way to get in,” Salhus said. “Once the convertible was cut open, inside was a 91-year-old woman. I crawled in and let her free. She didn’t appear to have any injuries but once the LBFD arrived, they transported her due to the nature of the collision.”
The driver has been transported as a trauma patient, Heflin said. No others were injured.
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