Rescuers talk about truck rescue near Tuttle

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - The images of a truck hanging off a bridge over the Malad Gorge, and the successful rescue mission involved are getting attention nationwide.

Rescuers say it was a team effort that made the rescue a success.

As members of the Special Operations Rescue Team (SORT) with Magic Valley Paramedics, Issac Baker and Chad Smith are used to heart pounding rescues.

But this was one situation the team never thought about while training, explains Smith, who's the special operations supervisor with Magic Valley Paramedics.

"It was shock. We're used to having vehicles in the canyon all the time just cause of where we live and work," Smith said. "But having one actually hang there is a first, so it was like 'Wow. That's like a scene you see in a movie.' Not in real life."

The team was listening over the radio for developments, but once they got on the scene they really got a picture of it.

"When we were flying over on the scene I noticed a truck hanging over the bridge, being held by one chain," Smith said. "It was like 'oh my gosh, we have to go fast, we have to get these people out as fast as possible before the truck drops into the canyon.'"

Isaac Baker, a training officer for the SORT team, as well as a paramedic for Magic Valley Paramedics, says the whole ride there he was putting a game plan in place.

"Just having plans A, B and C in your head of what you can possibly do and then get there, it was really good to see the team that was already there and they had the exact same plans for A, B and C, so that was nice that we were on the same page to start with," Baker said.

Smith and Baker credit that kind of thinking to the successful rescue of the driver, passenger, and their two dogs.

"The teamwork was amazing between all agencies," Smith said. "There were three or four different fire departments, Gooding county paramedics, Air St. Luke's, ISP, Idaho Department of Transportation. We worked like we worked together for many years. We just all jumped in and worked as one team and we all brought important roles to this team to make it successful."

As for the rescue itself, Baker says the initial plan was to get the victims out as soon as possible, but changed quickly when he and his partner saw how the truck was secured.

"We built a system, we were able to go over safely and secure the truck, get it hooked up to a tow truck that was showing up," Baker said. "So once the tow truck got there, we went over, secured the frame, and made sure that it wasn't going to move or hurt anybody if something did happen."

There were some challenges getting the duo out of the truck as well, explains Smith.

"The vehicle had also been severely damaged in the accident itself before going over the edge, so we couldn't get any doors open or anything like that," Smith said. "So we actually broke the passenger window out and we had one rescuer inside the truck, putting harnesses on these victims. And then I was the second rescuer on that side. He would pull them up to the window of the truck, and then I would grab them and secure them to our rope system and take them down. And we did that to get the two victims and the two dogs out."