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McAdoo woman trapped 20 minutes in Hometown rollover

A McAdoo woman was taken for medical evaluation after being trapped more than 20 minutes in a one-car rollover crash along Route 309 in Hometown.

Emergency responders were dispatched at 12 noon Saturday for a report of a rollover with entrapment.

Arriving on scene, rescuers discovered a car on its side on just off the southbound lanes of travel with two adults trapped inside.

Crews used hydraulic equipment to cut through the vehicle to free Brianna Pridgen, 32, and the vehicle's driver, Stephen Spohr, 32, McAdoo. Spohr was freed after 15 minutes and climbed a ladder with the help of rescuers in order to exit the vehicle. He told paramedics he believed he was uninjured.

Pridgen was freed several minutes after Spohr.

According to a woman traveling in a vehicle following behind the crash, the purple Geo Tracker was traveling southbound along the four-lane roadway and began to sway. It eventually veered off the road onto a lawn at 237 Claremont Avenue, where it flipped.

"I ran up to it and the man inside said he felt the rear wheel or something at the rear begin to wobble," said the traveler.

Police said they will pursue those reports.

"It seems something at the rear of the vehicle broke apart," said Sgt. Duane Frederick, Rush Township police, at the scene.

Pridgen was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Hazleton, for treatment.

According to police, Spohr was wearing a seatbelt but Pridgen was not.

The police report states the vehicle had no inspection sticker and was severely rusted on the undercarriage.

Northbound traffic was briefly detained while southbound traffic was rerouted through Hometown.

Responding were fire companies from Hometown and Quakake, ambulances from Tamaqua and Lehighton, fire police from Hometown and Tamaqua Rescue Squad.