Jaws of Life used to remove passenger in Saugus crash

SAUGUS – Saugus firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life Thursday to remove a passenger from a 1981 Firebird Trans Am that crashed into a telephone pole on Forest Street.Fire Capt. Arthur Sinclair said both passengers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”The driver and the passenger were injured,” said Sinclair. “The passenger was trapped and we had to use the jaws to get him out. He had his feet trapped under the dashboard.”Sinclair said the passenger suffered injuries to his left ankle, while the driver, who was able to get out of the car on his own, had a laceration to the back of his head.The impact of the crash snapped the pole in half at the base, causing power lines to drape onto the front lawn of a home at 54 Forest St. Crews from National Grid worked Thursday evening to repair the damaged pole.Sinclair said he suspects the driver of the Firebird was speeding.”I’m going to assume speeding,” said Sinclair. “It’s an ’81 Trans Am probably with a turbo in it. They said they were going 20, but I’m going to guess it was a little more than that.”Joe Chavs lives at 54 Forest St. and said that particular telephone pole has a history of destruction.”I grew up in this house and that tree and that pole used to get hit all the time,” said Chavs.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.