A routine Friday night on Interstate 77 turned into a seven-hour emergency operation when an overhead freeway sign collapsed onto a vehicle, trapping the driver beneath twisted steel and sparking questions about infrastructure safety on one of Charlotte’s busiest corridors.
Charlotte Fire crews arrived at the southbound lanes near Exit 5 at Tyvola Road just before 11 p.m. Friday to find a driver pinned inside a crushed vehicle beneath a massive interstate sign structure. Engine 12 reached the scene within minutes, according to Charlotte Fire Department, immediately confirming entrapment and beginning patient care while additional units mobilized.
Late last night Charlotte Fire crews responded to a crash on I77 South where an overhead interstate sign collapsed onto a car, trapping the driver beneath the wreckage.Engine 12 arrived within minutes, confirmed entrapment and began patient care. Ladder 20, which went into… pic.twitter.com/FVAzXvn8SO
— Charlotte Fire Dept. (@charlottefire) November 29, 2025
Complex Rescue in Cold Conditions
Ladder 20—which only entered service earlier this month as part of the department’s expansion to 20 aerial devices—worked alongside Rescue 10 to free the trapped driver. Despite freezing temperatures and the challenging scene, crews completed the complex extrication in under 30 minutes, as reported by WSOC TV…