Several people were injured and trapped inside their vehicles after a three-car crash on a busy road in Palmetto, Georgia, emergency responders said. Crews had to extricate multiple patients before paramedics could get them to area hospitals, with one person flown by helicopter and three others taken by ground ambulance.
According to 11Alive, emergency responders said the crash involved three vehicles and left several people injured. Crash victims were trapped inside their vehicles, per emergency responders, and crews worked to extricate the patients before they could be treated and transported.
Grady EMS Treats Patients, One Flown by Air
Grady EMS treated the patients at the scene, the outlet reported. One patient was transported by air to Grady Memorial Hospital, while three other patients were taken by ground ambulance, according to the same report.
Grady Memorial is designated a Level I trauma center by Grady Health System. Grady also now operates a 24-hour emergency department in Union City, with trauma and emergency services, according to the hospital. The crash account identifies Grady Memorial as the destination for the patient flown from the scene, but gives no reason for that routing; the existence of a nearer emergency department does not establish what care the patient needed or how responders chose a hospital. Grady’s South Fulton emergency department information lists its location and services.
Grady EMS took over ambulance service in Palmetto and several other south Fulton communities in July 2018, after American Medical Response left the service area earlier than expected. At the time, Grady said it was bringing in workers from outside metro Atlanta and partnering with other ambulance providers to fill staffing gaps. The transition is part of the local system’s background, though it does not establish anything about ambulance availability or response times at this crash. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the transition in 2018.
The crash response involved multiple fire departments and both ground and air transport.
South Fulton and Fairburn fire crews assisted at the crash scene, lending additional resources as responders worked to free those trapped in the wreckage. The scale of the response — spanning multiple fire departments and both air and ground transport — points to the severity of the scene, though the extent of the patients' injuries has not been released.
Georgia State Patrol Handling the Investigation
Palmetto police said Georgia State Patrol is handling the crash scene, placing the investigation with state troopers rather than local authorities. Authorities have not released information about what caused the crash, and the extent of the patients' injuries likewise has not been disclosed.
No further details about the exact roadway or timing of the crash were available in the initial report. Hoodline will share additional information on the Palmetto crash as it becomes available.
