A car hit a patch of black ice on Baker Mill Road on Saturday, Jan. 11, sliding down a steep embankment and crashing into a tree.

According to officials on the scene, the tree went through the windshield and the driver’s side door before the car came to rest. There were four people inside the car, and three of them, the driver and two backseat passengers, were able to get out of the car on their own before firefighters and paramedics arrived, according to Cleveland Fire Chief Kenny Payne.

A 15-year-old male, the front seat passenger, was pinned in the car by the tree, said Payne, but as soon as firefighter were able to stabilize the car, paramedics got into the vehicle to assess the teen and determined injuries were not life threatening.

“I call this a technical rescue,” said Payne. “We had some really smart people working on this scene, and they all worked together. No one was shouting or fighting for control, they all worked incredibly well together as a team.”

Trooper Eric Perdue of the N.C. State Highway Patrol said the call came into dispatch at 12:35 p.m. for the 2009 GMC Acadia off the road. He added that the road was closed for about two hours during the rescue efforts.

“The ice was bad on the curve there and that was a contributing factor, but excessive speed was not a factor, the driver was not at fault,” he said. No citations or charges will be forthcoming.

Perdue described the terrain where the vehicle went off the road as “a steep drop with no shoulder” and said the ice was in a shaded part of the roadway that had not melted since it didn’t get sun.

Payne credited his department, along with mutual aid from Woodleaf, Locke, Atwell and Rowan County Rescue Services, for pulling together to remove the teen from the car without causing any additional injuries.

“When I arrived on the scene, one of our members had already established command and assigned tasks,” Payne said. Once it was determined the teenager was not suffering any life threatening injuries, they began to take the vehicle apart but far away from the passenger, and work their way in. But as they worked, he said paramedics continued to re-evaluate. At 45 minutes in, they were worried about hypothermia, but it did not become an issue.

At about the one hour mark, Payne said they requested the medical helicopter be relaunched. It had automatically launched after the original call, but those on scene canceled it because it was apparent it would be an extended rescue.

“It wouldn’t have made sense to have them sitting at the landing zone for two and a half hours when they may be needed somewhere else during that time,” he said. “We called for them about an hour in because we were getting closer to getting the passenger out, and when blood flow was restored, there was a risk of shock and other issues so we wanted to be prepared.”

He added that paramedics these days are “able to do what they do in the emergency room, so he was in good care,” and that once the helicopter landed, its crew came to the scene and went with the teen when he was moved to the aircraft, offering even more advanced care.

The teen, whose name was not released since he is a minor, was transported to Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem and by Monday, the young man was up and walking on crutches.

Payne said “this was not a normal pin in,” and said he was grateful the teen didn’t suffer more serious injuries but credited the firefighters and paramedics with taking their time and doing everything right “so they didn’t take risks or cause additional harm.”

“I’ve been doing this stuff for more than 50 years,” said Payne, “andI would not have changed a thing they did.”