Volunteer firefighter saves woman trapped under wheel of truck after Bartholomew County accident

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ind. — A volunteer firefighter and reserve sheriff's deputy in Bartholomew County is being credited with saving a woman who was trapped under the wheel of a truck after a car accident. Reserve Deputy Michael Barnes is being acknowledged for his "quick thinking and decisive action" after the reported rescue, which occurred on July 7 in Elizabethtown. Officials say Barnes, while acting as a volunteer Elizabethtown firefighter, responded to a traffic accident and was the first to arrive on scene. There, he reportedly found a female victim who had been partially run over and became trapped under the front wheel of a pickup truck. After "recognizing the urgency of the situation," officials said Barnes located a floor jack and used it to lift the truck. Eventually, he extended the space between the wheel well and the wheel enough so that the victim was "freed from entrapment." Bartholomew County Sheriff Chris Lane said that it was Barnes's quick thinking and decisive action that prevented the woman from sustaining further injury. "I am proud of having Reserve Deputy Barnes, and I appreciate his volunteer service as both a Reserve Deputy and a firefighter," Sheriff Lane said. "He is a valuable asset to our agency, and Bartholomew County is lucky to have him as a public servant." No other information, including where the crash occurred or the victim's injury status, was immediately provided.