A Battle Ground woman was pinned inside her car Friday afternoon in a four-car collision on state Highway 503 southbound between Padden Parkway and Northeast 76th Street.
It took Vancouver firefighters about 30 minutes to safely extract the 43-year-old woman, Erika L. Green. Firefighters had to cut off the side and the top of her 2007 Toyota Yaris, as well as dismantle interior pieces, before she could be taken out of the car, said Capt. Kevin Murray, spokesman for the Vancouver Fire Department.
The collision occurred just after 2:30 p.m. Colleen Coates, 45, of Vancouver, was driving south in the right lane of Highway 503 when she stopped for traffic. Behind Coates was Janet Grant, 65, of Brush Prairie, who was driving a 2001 Dodge Caravan. Grant slowed for traffic, as did Green, who was the third car in the chain.
Tracy D. Smith, 47, of Vancouver, struck Green’s Yaris from behind with a 1997 Chevrolet pickup, causing a chain-reaction collision, according to the Washington State Patrol. Green’s car was pushed into the Caravan, which was pushed into Coates’ 2005 GMC Yukon.