Flomaton woman dies in single crash
First responders worked together Sunday evening to free the trapped victims of the single vehicle accident that occured near the intersection of Wolf Log Road and Oil Well Road in Flomaton.
Sylvia Ann Gacek, 47, of Flomaton, was killed and two others injured when the vehicle she was a passenger in left the roadway and overturned. Gacek was pronounced dead on the scene.
Escambia County (Ala.) Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Mike Lambert witnessed the fatal crash Sunday night as he made a right turn off Wolf Log Road onto Oil Well Road when he saw a gray SUV heading north on Oil Well Road. Lambert was the first on scene to begin administering aid.
"I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the vehicle sliding as it neared the curve and then began flipping over," said Lambert.
Lambert contacted dispatch advising a wreck with entrapment just past the Friendship Fire house, requesting ambulances, fire departments and sheriff's deputies.
Lambert said when he approached the vehicle it was on the passenger side on the west side of Oil Well Road. He made contact with the driver, Sharon Strength, 52, and backseat passenger, David Vinson, 40, of Flomaton, and said the third passenger, later identified as Gacek, was unresponsive.
Lambert said a neighbor, Brian Richburg, brought a ladder and chainsaw to the scene. Lambert said the ladder was used to gain access to the top of the vehicle. The chainsaw was later used to cut a path for firefighters to use the jaws of life.
According to Lambert, all three occupants were wearing seat belts and he used a knife to cut them free.
Flomaton Fire Station 32 arrived on scene and worked with Century Fire to extricate two patients, Strength and Vinson, who were both Life Flighted. The third victim, Gacek, was left in the vehicle until Alabama State Troopers investigated, when she was then extricated according to Flomaton Fire Chief Steve Stanton.
Flomaton, Friendship and Century Fire Departments, as well as Escambia Co (Ala.) Sheriffs Department and Flomaton Police Department, assisted by Brewton EMS and two helicopters were on scene to assist. According to Stanton, Century EMS was on a call, and were unable to assist. Nothing further is available as Alabama State Troopers continue to investigate.
