Derby dustup

A Rawlins volunteer firefighter was injured Saturday during the demolition derby held at the Carbon County fair after a car competing in the event crashed over a dirt berm and tore through a gate.

The firefighter received a large laceration on her arm after it was caught between a gate and the back of a truck she was sitting near, according to acting fire chief John Rutherford.

The injury was not life threatening, he said. The injured firefighter was transported to Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in a private vehicle, not an ambulance or other emergency vehicle.

She was treated at the hospital and released the same day, Rutherford said, and it was not expected that there would be any long term issues because of the injury.

The injury was caused when a car participating in the derby was hit and drove over a dirt berm. It continued forward and hit a metal gate that was secured by a chain. The gate then opened and the firefighter's arm was caught between the gate and the back of a truck, Rutherford said.

The derby was delayed for about half an hour as crews placed logs around the race track to strengthen the berms and prevent other cars from breaking through them.

The rest of the race went off without incident.

"It was unfortunate, and that's not what we like to see, Rutherford said. "Good news for us is she'll around to help her community in a couple weeks."