Lexi did a quick assessment of the car. The front of the vehicle was badly smashed up, and the steering column and part of the engine were shoved into the woman’s lap. That would make getting her out quickly a problem.
Lexi’s first instinct was to open the driver’s door but she stopped herself. With the vehicle hanging over the edge of the wall, it was too dangerous. She surveyed the vehicle, checking for a better entrance while at the same time assessing how easy it would be to get the woman out another way. The back door on the driver’s side was too crushed to function, and the front door on the passenger side was nearly as far out over empty space as the driver side door. If all that wasn’t bad enough, the rear door on the passenger side was wedged against what remained of the concrete railing. It wasn’t going to be easy to open.
That left only the sunroof.
The woman in the car turned her head slightly to look at Lexi, tears streaming down her face to mix with the raindrops. “You said you’d hurry!”
“We will,” Lexi assured her gently. “Sit still, okay?”
The woman shoved open her door as if Lexi hadn’t spoken. The steering wheel and remains of the airbag weren’t going to let her go anywhere, however, something she quickly figured out. Panic filled her eyes, and she immediately began to struggle.
The front of the car tipped downward, sliding a little farther over the edge. That only freaked the poor woman out even more.
The vehicle was going over for sure.Crap.
“Don’t move!” Lexi ordered over the woman’s screams, putting a hand on her arm. “I’m going to help you, but you have to do as I say.”
Lexi didn’t wait for a reply, but instead raced to the back of the car and climbed up on the trunk, praying her weight would be enough to push the car back down.
It wasn’t. The back of the car kept going up anyway.
Where the hell was Trent with that tow strap?
Out of nowhere, a big, burly white guy in a John Deere cap jumped on the back of the car beside her, quickly followed by a skinny black teenaged boy who probably weighed less than Lexi. She almost cried as their combined weight shoved the back of the car onto the road.
Then Trent was there with the big, heavy yellow tow strap, diving under the vehicle to wrap the strong material around the rear axle. He was out in a flash, racing back to the rescue truck and jumping behind the wheel. Shoving the ambulance in reverse, he started backing up.
The slack disappeared out of the two strap and from her position on the trunk, Lexi felt the back of the sedan twist down and away from the edge of the wall and the railing it was balanced on.
Suddenly, the woman screamed in pain. Lexi looked through the rain-spattered back window to see one of the woman’s legs being crushed by a piece of metal sticking up from the floorboard of the car. Crap. It was a piece of rebar from the overpass retaining wall.
“Stop!” Lexi shouted over her shoulder, holding up a closed fist in Trent’s direction.
He immediately hit the brake and leaned out the window of the truck. “What’s wrong?”
“A piece of rebar from the concrete railing has punctured the bottom of the car and is pressing against the woman’s leg,” Lexi said, her wet ponytail swinging around to smack her in the back as she turned to look at him. “If you keep pulling, it’s going to crush her.”
“Shit!” he muttered.
Lexi carefully climbed off the trunk of the car along with her two volunteers. At least the recovery strap would keep the car from going over—for now.
Trent got out of the truck and ran over to them. “I didn’t get the vehicle far enough back to keep it stable. If it starts to tip forward again, I don’t think the strap is going to hold it. We have to get her out of there.”
He was right.Dammit.
“We’re not getting her out through any of the doors,” Lexi said. “I’ll climb in through the sunroof and get her out that way.”
All three men looked at her like she was insane.
“I’ll go,” Trent said.
Lexi shook her head. “I’m lighter than you are. Your weight would push the car over the edge.”
Trent cursed. He opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it again. “You’re right. Hang on while I grab some rope.”
As Lexi waited for him to get it from the truck, she caught sight of the bystanders watching with a mix of trepidation and concern on their faces. She knew how they felt. But if she didn’t get that poor woman out of there, she was going to die. And Lexi would be damned if she was going to let that happen.
“Tie this around your waist,” Trent said, handing her the rope. “And be careful, okay?”
