Woman uses Stanley cup to try to douse flames after Suffolk crash

SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Two people are in the hospital with serious injuries after a two-vehicle crash in Suffolk.

Monday just before 1:30 p.m. emergency crews responded to a vehicle crash on the 6000 block of University Drive for reports that someone was pinned inside a vehicle.

Avery Elliott was leaving Hampton Roads Crossing with her dad when they saw flames after a crash involving two cars. She said she used her Stanley cup to collect water and douse the flames until help arrived.

“The top of it was crushed,” Elliott told 10 On Your Side. “The side of it was almost completely taken off. The insides of the car were totally exposed. It was, it was rough. I grabbed my Stanley cup because that’s all I had and I brought that out and gave them all the water I could.”

Elliott went from car to car, asking if anyone had water on them.

“We went to other cars and we grabbed people’s water bottles,” Elliott said. “He [the driver] had been hit on the driver’s side. The door had been crushed in and he couldn’t get it open. It was kind of difficult to get too close to the car because the hood, there were flames coming up.”

Elliott stayed with the driver until emergency crews arrived.

“It was really scary,” Elliott said. “I’ve never really been that close to open flames on a car or anything like that.”

  • Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
    Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
  • Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
    Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
  • Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
    Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
  • Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
    Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
  • Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue
    Courtesy of Suffolk Fire & Rescue

When crews arrived on the scene, they found two badly damaged vehicles. One of vehicles was on fire with a patient pinned inside.

Crews placed a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) on the pinned patient to protect them from the hazardous conditions and the difficult extrication.

Around 1:37, crews were able to extricate the person from the vehicle. That person was then transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

The driver of the other vehicle was also transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with serious injuries.

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