This was posted this week on Facebook by the Indianapolis FD. It is not graphic but may be disturbing to some.

Video summary:
A jack failed and trapped a person working under their car.

https://www.facebook.com/indianapolisfiredepartment/videos/1933947383290446/

Always use a jack stand with your jack when you are working under your vehicle. Stands are cheap at Walmart and Harbor Freight.

In addition to the above, set parking brake and chock any wheels still on the ground. Before getting under the car, grab each corner and give it a good shake to settle it and make sure it won't slip down on you while you work.

Wow! About a dozen firefighters and every piece of equipment the truck has just to lift a car off the guy?

+2 Never trust a jack of any type alone for under the car work.

Great reminder, I read in the local paper about a car falling of of a Jack about once a year, and pretty often it ends up as a fatality

Be sure to use real jack stands and not something like this.

Ramp or jackstands period. No jacks

I personally use ramps with a jack stand as a safety measure. I've seen many rhino or plastic style ramps get old and brittle.

I live in the PNW area (oodles of rain).
There's a neighbor who has stored his home-made, wooden ramps stored outside near to where he parks.

Do these ppl not understand what happens to rain-soaked wood!?!?!

I use jack stands on level concrete. I shake the car to see if the jack stands rock. I want it to make noise or fall before i'm under it. If i have the wheels/tires off, i put them under there as well. I don't get under the car,( or on top of my camper) when no one but me is home. I'm not 30 anymore.

You have the exact same process and approach as I do. I don't get under the car without my wife home and knowing I'm out in the garage working under the car. Heck, even sometimes she'll come out help hand me wrenches.

The metaphor about a monkey and a football crossed my mind. There were enough personnel on hand to lift the car off the poor idiot

Looks like there's a metal stand just forward of the right rear wheel. If so, it tipped over. Guy could have been doing it mostly right except setting the car's partial weight properly on the stand.

If immediate risk of life was in the balance they might have lifted the car by hand. But blowing out backs isn't the safest method. And if the car slips out of their grips and falls again, you can crush the person worse than before, especially if they change position while trying to get out. The firefighters may have deemed the situation stable and not immediately life threatening...enough time to get proper rigging gear. I wasn't there so this is all conjecture.

Thats great, LOL