San Diego Firefighters, Mechanics Rescue Trapped Bicyclist

Mechanics from a Middletown motorcycle shop helped save a bicyclist's life Friday morning when they used a jack to partially lift a vehicle off the man after he was struck, run over and pinned, authorities said.

Before firefighters arrived, the mechanics "lifted the majority of the weight of the vehicle off the man, "giving him a fighting chance," San Diego Fire-Rescue Capt. Kevin Easley said.

San Diego police said the 74-year-old victim suffered major injuries, including fractures of his pelvis, ribs and left arm, but was expected to survive.

A Subaru Outback struck and dragged the man around 11:20 a.m. Friday, according to Officer Tony Martinez. The man apparently rode his bike off a sidewalk and into the path of the crossover-style vehicle just as the driver, a 38-year-old woman, was turning right from Chalmers Street onto India Street.

Paul Lima, president and owner of GP Motorcycles on India Street, told OnScene TV that service workers at his shop heard the crash and, seeing that the victim was pinned, ran out with a jack.

"They lifted it up and hopefully helped the situation," Lima said.

Easley, captain of an urban search and rescue team with the Fire-Rescue Department, told OnScene TV that by lifting most of the Subaru's weight off the man, who was entangled in his bicycle and trapped under the engine, the GP Motorcycles crew "made a significant difference in the outcome."

Once firefighters arrived on scene, they used blocks of wood and airbags to lift the Subaru just enough to free the pinned victim, Battalion Chief Dan Eddy told OnScene TV.

"We (have to) lift that car straight off the ground basically ... because the last thing we want to do is move that car in a lateral direction to hurt the patient even more," Eddy said. "Luckily crews were on it quick and were able to get it up quick."

The battalion chief said firefighters were able to rescue the man within 10 minutes of arriving on scene.

Medics took the man to a hospital with injuries that were not expected to be life-threatening, Martinez said. The Police Department's traffic division was investigating the crash.

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