Three emergency response agencies in Randolph County, Asheboro Fire & Rescue, the East Side Fire Department, and Westside Fire & Rescue, are receiving a Salute to Heroes award from the American Red Cross for their life-saving collaboration.
On April 10, 2023, a driver sent their car down a retaining wall into the back of the Verizon store on East Dixie Drive in Asheboro and got stuck 12 feet off the ground. The Asheboro Fire Department got the call, and Battalion Chief Ben Hicks was in charge at the scene. "The driver was still in the car, so we all had to put our game face on and go to work pretty quick," Hicks said.
The first priority was stabilizing the car so that crews could treat the driver, then get her out and take her to the hospital, but the fact that it was so high off the ground made it challenging.