Depoe Bay Fire, Oregon State Police trooper Fitch, and Pacific West Ambulance were notified of a man calling from his vehicle that had been involved in a crash. The caller reported he thought he had wrecked “about an hour ago”. Investigation showed a Mazda pickup driven by 25-year old Joshua Irwin of Depoe Bay was southbound on Hwy 101 toward Depoe Bay when he drove across the highway and on the northbound shoulder. The truck continued over an embankment and collided with some trees.

The pickup rotated to face north with Irwin trapped inside. He was down an embankment where nobody from the road could have seen him. When he called for help he described that he was able to see a sign that said “South Fogarty Creek”. The information lead responders directly to his location. Irwin was trapped in his vehicle with severe injuries. Depoe Bay Firefighters were able to free Irwin after roughly an hour of extrication. He was transported to Boiler Bay State Park in Depoe Bay where he was flown to Emmanuel Trauma Center in Portland by Lifeguard Air Ambulance out of Tillamook.

Information and photo provided by Depoe Bay Fire and OSP