Lieutenant Richard Woods , 48, suffered a fatal heart attack on 3/17/15 while assisting other rescue personnel extricate teenagers from a vehicle following a serious accident on Cogswell Avenue at 5th street, at approximately 4:30pm. A heavy utility truck had collided with a car carrying two teenage girls on their way to soccer practice. The mangled car slid down an embankment into a ravine with the utility truck on top of it. The girls were trapped inside. Woods was the first responder on the scene. After checking on the girls and finding the doors wouldn’t open, he called for help. A wrecker, ambulance and rescue workers were immediately summoned. Woods was able to pull the 15-year-old out of the passenger-side of the car, but the 16-year-old driver was still trapped. When rescue workers arrived with the Jaws of Life tool, Woods began to saw the roof off the car to get to the driver, who had a broken pelvis, lacerations and other injuries. They were also looking around making sure fuel was not leaking. Woods helped cut the whole top half of the car off. They were also concerned that the remaining airbags would deploy and hurt them worse. Woods was putting it where it needed to be so they did not set off the right-side airbags that didn’t go off yet. On the passenger side, the whole side airbag on the right side hadn’t gone off. Woods began working up a sweat and it was a hot day. Woods then began assisting firefighters who were cutting trees and clearing out logs to make a path to the ambulance. Woods began experiencing chest pains and sat down. Woods said he had pneumonia and sinus infection. Pell City Fire and Rescue Service and RPS ambulance immediately began treatment by conducting chest compressions on Lt. Woods when he lost consciousness. Woods was treated on the scene for about 20 minutes. He was originally supposed to be airlifted to the hospital but wasn’t stable enough. He was transported to the emergency room at St. Vincent’s St. Clair Hospital where he died at 5:33 p.m. Lieutenant Woods had served with the Pell City Police Department for 20 years and was the commander of the Special Operations Division. Woods is survived by his wife, Susan, and two sons, Richard Cody Woods, and Jacob Cecil Woods, 14, who lived at home and his K9 partner Johnny . K9 Johnny was to be retired soon and attended the funeral. Woods was buried with full police honors. A “Richard Woods Memorial Fund” has been set up for the family at Metro Bank.
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