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VAFireNews.com has been on top of the story since the crash occurred, click here for coverage
Photos from the Franklin News-Post
More on the Rocky Mount VFD
Rocky Mount (VA) Chief Posey Dillon, who is also the town’s vice-mayor, and Firefighter Willam D.Altice, known as Danny, were killed this afternoon when their fire engine overturned on the way to a reported structure fire. Dillon, who had been chief for two decades, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police say he was driving the rig. Altice was dead at the scene. Here are excerpts from news coverage.
The fire engine, with its emergency lights and siren on, was heading to a report of a person trapped in a house fire in the Franklin County community of Union Hall, with just Dillon and Altice aboard. With Dillon at the wheel, the engine, eastbound on Old Franklin Turnpike, swerved when a silver Ford Escape drove into the street from School Board Road, said Sgt. Rob Carpentieri, a state police spokesman.
The truck, loaded with 1,000 gallons of water, was struck on the driver’s side by the SUV, flipped from the shifting weight of the water and landed on a Ford Mustang convertible on its third roll, said state police Sgt. Michael Bailey. The Mustang driver, Carolyn Puckett, 47, of Bassett didn’t appear hurt, police said.
“The fire truck driver overcorrected and it appears the weight of the load shifted,” Carpentieri said.
Other fire companies subdued the blaze and found the person safely away from the fire, Bailey said.
Rocky Mount’s truck, a 1989 Pierce engine with a 1,000-gallon water tank, can be “top-heavy” in emergency maneuvers, Russell said. Its tank contains baffles to keep the sloshing water from throwing the fire engine off balance, he said.
Dillon was driving the fire truck, which was on its way to a house fire in the Penhook area of Franklin County. Altice was riding in the passenger seat. They were the only people in the truck. Neither Dillon nor Alitce was wearing a seat belt.
The driver of the SUV, Terry Valentine, was taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital with injuries described as non life-treatening.
The driver of the Ford Mustang, Carolyn Puckett, was not hurt in the crash.
Dillon had served on town council for 24 years, including 10 years as vice mayor, and was re-elected vice mayor by council earlier this month. He had been fire chief for 20 years.
Altice joined the fire department in 1963 and served as chief from 1977 to 1984. He was presented a lifetime achievement award by town council in 2008.
Also on STATter911 …
- FireTruckBlog.com: Updates on Missouri & Kansas wrecks. – May 11, 2011
- FireTruckBlog.com: The story of the day. Rocky Hardcore & his flying fire truck. – July 1, 2011
- FDNY Engine 158 opens up master stream to rescue NYPD. Cops caught in group of 50 teens. – December 7, 2011
- Firefighter dad talks about crash that took son Zach Whitacre’s life. Donald Whitacre says he lost control of tanker on ice. – February 13, 2012
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My heart breaks for their families, friends and fellow firefighters. May God grant them all rest and peace.
Now, use of seat belts not only might have saved their lives, it might have even prevented such a severe accident! Perhaps if the driver had stayed in position behind the wheel, he might have maintained more control of the truck.
Lord help us to learn to take better care of ourselves and our people!!
This is very sad and unfortunate…We can debate the use of seatbelts all day long or we could say if the car didn’t enter the intersection or if it was raining instead of sunny out etc……No matter how tragic this seems, we as humans don’t live forever. All of us have to die at somepoint in our lives, we just don’t get to choose how long we live or how we will leave earth….RIP Brothers
RIP. Sad, but please brothers, wear your seatbelts in your rigs.
This is too sad…four in four days I dont like this average. RIP fellows
Let these two brave men go with God. Please save the seat belt debate for another day.
RIP brothers.
Rest in peace brothers. Everyone else, please buckle up!
My Prayers will be with their Family nad Frienda.
RIP to the deceased Firefighters. To those of you who say let the seat belt ‘debate’ go for another day … sorry, but there are firefighters riding on a rig somewhere right now that are not belted in. This issue can’t be kicked to the curb and re-visited later, it’s reality … learn from the mistakes of others.
It will also be important to find out if it was a controlled intersection and whether speed was a factor in this tragedy.
Last month I was in the very position of the suv: on the school board road, making a left turn. My light turned green, but I heard sirens and stopped in time for an ambulance heading to the hospital. What surprised me is that the emergency workers didn’t change my light to red. In other places I’ve lived, they have the power to do this, if I’m not mistaken. Music, phone, or other distractions can easily cause someone to miss sirens.