Truck driver rescued after crashing into Portland basketball star’s swimming pool
A driver is in serious condition after losing control of his dump truck and crashing it into a swimming pool owned by Portland Trail Blazers basketball player Evan Turner.
Truck Driver Fails To Navigate Hairpin Turn, Crashes Into Pool
The crash happened just before 9 a.m. this morning in southwest Portland, Oregon.
A semitruck crashed into Evan Turner’s backyard swimming pool 😳 https://t.co/lBB6Kfhsbh pic.twitter.com/VuP6qENfW1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 20, 2017
According to Portland Fire and Rescue, a dump truck driver was attempting to navigate his rig though a hairpin turn when he went straight instead of turning. After crashing off of an embankment, the truck landed partially in Turner’s swimming pool.
Truck went in to the pool of a SW Portland that’s registered to @trailblazers forward @thekidet. #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/aDdsmpXTYJ
— Reed Andrews (@ReedKATU) December 20, 2017
The driver was trapped inside the partially submerged truck and exposed to the cold pool water for 15 to 20 minutes.
According to a report in Uproxx, Evan Turner’s chef held the driver’s head out of the water for about 10 minutes to keep him alive until rescuers arrived.
It took at least eight rescue crew members and the jaws of life to free the trapped truck driver. Because the truck was upside down in the pool, one rescuer had to continue to hold the driver’s head out of the water during the extraction.
The truck driver suffered serious injuries. He is being treated at a nearby hospital.
His identity has not been released.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
It’s a hairpin then where the crash happened on Upper Hall, but the street sign warning drivers of the turn isn’t until about 70 feet before the turn. #LiveOnK2 pic.twitter.com/DhLQzpDOp8
— Reed Andrews (@ReedKATU) December 20, 2017
Basketball Star Doesn’t Seem Too Concerned About Fate Of Seriously Injured Truck Driver
It isn’t clear whether Turner was home at the time of the crash.
The Trail Blazers posted a video from Turner to Twitter in which the basketball star jokes about the incident and does not mention the fact that a man nearly lost his life in the pool.
A message from @thekidet…
Holla at him, @MTV Cribs. pic.twitter.com/ymZzG7HYmL
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 20, 2017
Take a look at the video below for more images from the crash site.