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Check out a dash-cam video from Russia this week of a double fatal head-on between a rescue rig and a tractor-trailer
I saw this fire truck collision video on FirefighterSpot.com. If the date is correct it occurred on New Year’s Day 2010. But where did it happen? I am sure one of our readers can answer that question. Let us know in the comment section.
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You will have to click play again after the commercial to watch this story.
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A story out of Lexington has emerged surrounding the “celebration” following Kentucky winning the NCAA Championship. According to WLEX-TV shots were fired on Limestone around 2:00 AM on April 3 that put a number of people in danger. Firefighters from Station 11 were dealing with a minor collision involving their rig. They were talking with the family involved when one of the firefighters saw a flash.
Someone fired a gun at least six times, about forty feet away, in their direction.
“There was a lot of panic. Mostly coming from the other side of the street. So we was trying to figure out who we needed to grab, who was screaming, where the shots were coming from, who had been shot,” Lt. Jamie Tinsley remembers.
McClain threw himself on the little boy standing nearby. Firefighter Shawn Holloway pulled a woman out of her car, who was frozen with fear. Lieutenants Kevin Austin and Jamie Tinsley moved the rest of the family behind their engine.
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On Wednesday, a Eurocopter AS350 operated by the State of Para Fire Department in Brazil broke apart after an emergency landing. There was video rolling when this occurred.
According to the site helihub.com:.
Helicopter landed due to excessive vibration, which continued as ground resonance which shook the aircraft to bits. 4POB all got out safely – the commander, the second pilot, a doctor and a nurse.
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From Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com, the story on Saturday of San Bernardino County, California's Medic Squad 71 being hit by a car as the crew was returning from quarters. Click here.
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Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com has the story from Middletown, New York of an assistant chief's SUV and a town police officer's car colliding. They were responding to a fire at the fire chief's home. Click here.
In Galveston County, Texas last night, a Dickinson fire truck on the way to a wires arcing call slid off a crumbling, freshly paved road into a ditch and turned onto its side. The chief of the department called it a "slow roll". One firefighter was hurt.
There is much more apparatus news for you at Glenn Usdin's FireTruckBlog.com. The featured article today is video of Pierce's new Dash CF unveiled yesterday at FDIC in Indianapolis. Click here for that story, some used rigs for sale and the rest of what's happening in the world of apparatus.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has been staying on top of the crash Saturday of Youngstown, Ohio’s Squad 33. The site has links to fireground audio and new pictures of the damage following the rollover. Click here.
Check out FireTruckBlog.com for a more extensive interiew with police & the little girl’s grandfather
Kansas City, Missouri Fire Apparatus Operator Jeffrey Smith lost the lower part of his leg after the engine he was driving hit a tree and a utility pole just a short distance from Station 42. Police say Smith made the choice to swerve to the right to avoid running over the vehicle that crossed the center line and caused the wreck. Inside that car, a mother and her 3-year-old daughter, who police say was not secured in a car seat.
From WDAF-TV:
“(He) went very hard to the right side of the road to avoid a head on collision with this woman’s vehicle,” said Sgt. Bill Mahoney of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. “There’s probably a pretty good chance that she and the 3 year old who was improperly restrained would have been seriously injured or killed.”
Police arrested the mother and held her in jail overnight. She has been released and charges are pending.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com, which first brought us this story Tuesday, has more details, including an interview with the grandfather of the little girl. Click here.
Click here for more on this story from FireTruckBlog.com
A woman is suspected of DUI with a three-year-old child in the car and a firefighter may lose his leg or foot. That’s the bad news from Kansas City, Missouri this evening. FireTruckBlog.com and Firefighter Nation were first with the story shortly after the 1:50 PM crash. Since then the firefighter has been identified as Fire Apparatus Driver Jeff Smith, a 21-year veteran of the Kansas City Fire Department.
Smith was at the wheel of the fire engine as it left Station 42 on East Red Bridge Red responding on a medical call. The rig didn’t get far.
Kansas City Fire Department spokesperson Joe Vitale said the fire truck and a car collided head-on. The fire truck then crashed into a utility pole, which knocked down electrical lines on top of the fire truck.
Kansas City Fire Department Station 42 is just around the bend in this Google Maps Street View image. The arrow shows where the rig ended up. Click the photo to tour the area.
Preliminary findings suggest that the female driver of the car was driving under the influence and crossed over the median, according to police. The Kansas City Police Department will investigate the crash.
The child was not injured and the woman’s injuries are not life threatening.
Authorities said the firefighter in serious, but stable condition.
Most of the damage was sustained to the driver’s side of both vehicles.
Satellite view of the same area showing fire station and crash scene.
More apparatus news from FireTruckBlog.com
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has the raw video from Warren, Michigan where four firefighters walked away with minor injuries this afternoon after a tractor-trailer collided with their engine. Click here for the video and the details.
Mike Legeros picture from Legeros.com at scene of Raleigh Fire Department crash.
FireTruckBlog.com on NY fire chief’s ticket over blocking the road
My friend Mike Legeros took the picture above Tuesday night in Raleigh, North Carolina after Raleigh Fire Department Engine 1 was struck by a car on Interstate 440 north of Hammond Road. Mike described the wreck this way at his Legeros.com (where you will see many more pictures):
Engine 1 struck by passenger vehicle while blocking for Engine 2 at accident scene. E1 personnel were inside apparatus at the time of collision and not injured. Driver of passenger vehicle transported by EMS 8 with reportedly non-life threatening injuries. Engine 3 dispatched to block scene of secondary accident.
Just as we saw in Stratford, Connecticut on I-95 in early January when two fire engines were hit by two different tractor-trailers at the same incident, using the big fire trucks as barriers works.
But still, not everyone is getting the message. Yesterday morning on Long Island, North Merrick Fire Chief Jimmy Allen understands the concept well. The chief also knows that it isn’t acceptable when an incident is in the center lane of a highway to have cars driving by in both the right and left lanes. But a New York State trooper apparently knows better. According to Chief Allen he was given a ticket and threatened with arrest when he failed to unblock the right lane while the scene was still active.
Glenn Usdin looks at what happened between the chief and the trooper and a number of other relevant incidents. It is well worth the time to read Glenn’s commentary at FireTruckBlog.com.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com has what is really the story of the weekend. Stratford, Connecticut’s Engine 1 and Engine 5 may be down for the count but a half-dozen firefighters are walking around. The rigs were positioned to protect the crews working a crash on I-95 Friday evening. And protect they did, as two tractor-trailer drivers lost control on the snowy highway. Click here for the details and links to pictures.
Glenn Usdin’s FireTruckBlog.com looks at the lawsuit filed by an insurance company in connection with the January 2009 death of Lt. Kevin Kelley. Lt. Kelley was killed when Boston Fire Department’s Ladder 26 lost its brakes and slammed into a building. The company insures the Mission Hill apartment complex the rig hit. The suit is against the City of Boston and six truck maintenance shops. Lt. Kelley’s family has also filed suit against the same inspection and repair shops. Click here for the coverage from FireTruckBlog.com.
FireTruckBlog.com by Glenn Usdin is on top of yesterday’s crash of a fire engine in Charlotte, North Carolina that injured three firefighters. Click here for that story.
There is a lot more news from FireTruckBlog.com including the roll over of a Beckley, West Virginia fire engine, some new apparatus deliveries and a few late Santa sightings.
In case you missed it, Glenn had another Santa sighting that was particularly touching. Despite losing Firefighter Edward Stringer last week, Stringer’s fellow firefighters at Engine 62 still followed through on a Christmas Day tradition of carrying Santa to a local children’s hospital. Click here.
Click image for more from WPVI-TV.
This evening a fire truck and ambulance collided with three other vehicles at Tabor Road and Wagner Avenue in Philadelphia. Five medic units were dispatched to the scene to handle 10 patients. The injuries are reported to be non-life threatening to four firefighters, a paramedic and as many as five civilians. FireTruckBlog.com has additional details.
Here is more from Ron Trout at PhillyFireNews.com:
While responding to a accident scene, Squad 72 and Medic 18 were involved in a serious accident with 3 other autos. A total of 5 medic units were requested along with a full accident response. B/C 2 requested an extra Ladder company to the scene along with ES-5,ES-3 and VCU.
Click the image for more from WCAU-TV.
Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue picture.
This is a picture of Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue’s Engine 5, a 2005 Seagrave, and how it looked yesterday morning. The good news is there were no injuries to the four firefighters on board. FireTruckBlog.com by Glenn Usdin has video posted of what this rig looks like after if was brought back on its wheels. Click here to see it.
More on this and other news in the fire apparatus world from FireTruckBlog.com by Glenn Usdin.
One of the more interesting aspects of this story is that the picture above was distributed to the local news media by Cornelius-Lemley Fire & Rescue. There is also a pretty detailed account of what happened written by Chief James Barbee posted right at the top of the department’s home page.
I am sure some will argue that if this is the only picture of the upside down engine, from a public relations standpoint it was a bad idea to release it. Why broadcast this image of the department?
That is a point you can’t discount, but I would argue the opposite. To me, the image it is showing is of a fire department that communicates openly and transparently with it’s citizens. It is letting the public know they can rely on their fire department as a source of accurate and timely information, whether the news is good or bad. And the person who they will get that info from is the man in charge.
A good example of getting the bad news out quickly, trying to get it behind you and moving on. Here is what Chief Barbee wrote:
Cornelius Engine 5 was responding to a reported structure fire in a commercial occupancy in Huntersville, NC. Engine 5 was traveling emergency traffic, with regard to the rainy and potentially icy conditions, South on Poplar Tent Rd. While responding, Engine 5 traveled onto a stretch of road encased with heavy black ice that was not visible from inside the cab which resulted in a loss of traction from the rear wheels as the road began to turn. The Engineer driving the apparatus took strict evasive maneuvers; however, the truck continued to slide for approximately 100 yards before the front right of the truck slid off of the road and the rear of the truck continued on ice. The end result was Engine 5 rolling over and coming to rest on the roof. Four firefighters were riding in the apparatus and sustained no injuries, though each were checked, all have been released by a physician for normal duties.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded and investigated the incident. The police report notes that the roads were “wet and icy” and the estimated travel speed was 25mph which was the sustained speed at time of impact.
The Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue Department recently purchased a 1995 Seagrave Engine to serve as a reserve engine company. This truck will now be placed to front line service and the citizens of the Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue district will not see any lapse in service.
The Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue Department requires all of its drivers to be certified as a North Carolina Emergency Vehicle Drivers and they must undergo a rigorous in house testing procedure that includes driving the truck on a predetermined driving course.
This story is a bit different and I’m not sure what to make of it. It involves an investigation that is underway in Clark County, Indiana. It focuses on Chief Greg Dietz of the Sellersburg Fire Department and his behavior at the scene of a fatal crash involving a department ambulance last Wednesday. Here are excerpts from an article by WHAS-TV:
The investigation involves his alleged actions at the scene of an accident in which one of his own employees – a Clark County Emergency Medical Technician – was killed.
While we don’t know much about the nature of the possible charges, we’ve been told it all centers on a terrible crash that happened Wednesday afternoon.
According to sources, Chief Dietz arrived on the scene and became angry over whether his agency or the Clark County Sheriff’s Office was in charge, especially concerning where to land the medical helicopter.
Clark County Sheriff Danny Rodden confirmed to WHAS the incident is under investigation.
Sellersburg Police Chief Russ Whelan says Dietz worked for 15 years as a volunteer auxiliary police officer.
He asked Dietz to step aside today.
David J. Gundle, a 50-year-old emergency medical technician from Memphis, was killed Wednesday when an ambulance driven by Erica R. Stoffregen, 26, of Henryville, left the roadway and struck a tree head on. They were responding to a nonemergency call of a welfare check. Clark County EMS is operated by the Sellersburg Volunteer Fire Department.
Gundle was first transported by ground ambulance to Henryville High School and then flown by Stat Flight to Scott County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officials said Dietz was upset because of where the helicopter had to land.
“I was told by numerous people that there was profanity used [by Dietz] on the fire radios,” Whelan said. “I understand that emotions were high at the time, but I believe we’re held to a higher standard.”
“He had a meltdown at the scene the other day,” Sheriff Danny Rodden said. “He just made some decisions and did some things he shouldn’t have.”
This is an interesting story. How many of you read Dr. Burt Clark’s October commentary at Firehouse.com about witnessing firefighters unbelted at a parade he was involved in? Here it is if you missed it. Well this story seems to have a connection.
In Pompano Beach, Florida, firefighters refused to give Santa Claus a ride in last night’s annual holiday parade because he wouldn’t wear a seatbelt. The motivation is being questioned by some because this has never been an issue in the past. Critics point out the union is at an impasse in contract negotiations with the city.
Instead, Santa was in the custody of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office who put him aboard its SWAT wagon, allowing him to stand up through the hatch at the roof of the vehicle. Parade officials had gone to Broward Sheriff Fire-Rescue to find wheels for Santa, but apparently they sided with the firefighters of Pompano Beach Fire Rescue on this one.
Here are excerpts from an article by the Sun-Sentinel’s Larry Barzewski:
The firefighters union, which is at impasse in its contract negotiations with the city, said standard operating procedures require all passengers to be seated and restrained by a seat belt when riding on a fire apparatus.
“It places all liability on the driver-engineer and the person that supervises the driver,” said Rich Sandell, president of the Pompano Beach Professional Firefighters union. He denied that the refusal had anything to do with the negotiations.
Pompano Fire Chief Harry Small, who has been on the force for 33 years, said “Santa’s pretty much always been on the fire department trucks” at the parade. Not until this year did Santa’s safety become such an issue that he couldn’t ride atop the truck.
Sandell had sought modifications to the rules to reduce liability, but Small said he didn’t see any reason for that.
“We had, in my opinion, a perfectly safe situation,” said Small, whose firefighters build the platform Santa usually uses when riding atop a fire truck. “We didn’t think that Santa Claus was at any time at any risk.”
A fascinating video: A delivery man spotted a small apartment fire yesterday in Racine, Wisconsin. Being a good citizen he went inside and started alerting neighbors by banging on doors. Good for him. But as we know, it isn’t just good enough to do that in the modern times we live in. The incident would not have officially occurred if there wasn’t video of the man’s actions. Thankfully that video exists. It is courtesy of the same delivery man. He provides narration, and a couple shots of himself in action. He who is soon joined by a police officer who beats the fire department to the scene. Long ago I predicted, that with all of the cameras and the need to shoot everything, we would soon have a rescue where both the rescuer and rescuee were taking video. We are not there yet. But I think we have officially taken a step closer to reaching my goal.
Strut alert: If you missed it, with the help of Firefighter Close Calls, we have posted raw dashcam video of a vehicle fire this summer in Austin, Texas. It shows a number of small explosions, including struts becoming flying missiles. Click here for the video.
I don’t like Dave Slater: Who can blame him? But that’s one of the many comments sent in about my position on the video of the trooper from Connecticut’s confrontation with a news photographer. I am clearly in a losing battle, but I am going down fighting as I almost single-handedly try to be the protector of our Constitution and way of life. And when I say losing, I’m losing big time. The vast majority of the people writing in think whether a citizen or the press can roll video at an emergency scene is not (or should not be) protected under our First Amendment, but instead is a decision we have handed over to the government in the form of first responders. That scares me for so many reasons. But I answer each one who writes in with a variety of arguments about why that’s not a good idea. I also point out that even though you may believe that’s how it works, the law of the land as determined by the people who formed our government, says otherwise. Maybe what amazes me more is that a news photographer, who is standing with the public and not up close to the working first responders at a fatal crash, is made out to the devil. All you see on his raw, unedited video is a burning car, with the body already gone. Many of the writers indicate the press should not roll video at any scene where someone has died. I know I am an insensitive, biased, former reporter jerk for thinking that our freedoms in this country overrides what offends people. There’s a lot more to what many think are really stupid arguments by me. Read it for youself.
But here’s why I really like this First Amendment thing: It allows us all to openly have our say on forums like these blogs. Glenn Usdin is doing just that with his new site, FireTruckBlog.com. He looks at a controversy going on right now in and around Lancaster, Pennsylvania that has cropped up big time because the city’s only two ladder trucks are down and out. It’s pitting career firefighters and against volunteers and has the mayor threatening to sue the union claiming the IAFF is messing up mutul aid agreements. Check out Glenn’s thoughts that include having a Plan B for apparatus replacement. Also, if you are new to FireTruckBlog.com here is a run down of some of the interesting stuff posted so far.
Hazmat unit strikes pedestrians: Firegeezer is on top of this tragic story from Columbia, South Carolina where on of two pedestrians struck has died.
Firefighter in two states and suspected arsonist in both: Both Pennsylvania and West Virginia authorities have neen investigating a volunteer firefighter for possibly setting fires. Charges have already been brought in Pennsylvania. Read the details.
Montgomery County, Maryland firefighter breaks leg while hitting hydrant: The Washington Post reports the lay-out man during an electrical fire in Silver Spring found his leg wrapped in the hose. Here’s a few details.
Both Prince George’s County & Montgomery County being defensive: We have raw video from a pair of recent well-involved Maryland house fires. One is from PGFD in Bowie courtesy of Tom Yeatman. The other is in Potomac from MCFRS.
More fire videos for you: Dayton, Kentucky found five frozen hydrants as firefighter tried to handle two homes burning. Click here. Helmet-cam video from West Plains, Missouri. Click here. Hackensack, New Jersey two-alarm house fire. Click here.
Republican filibuster blocks 9-11 health bill: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls it “a devastating indictment of Washington politics, a tragic example of partisan politics trumping patriotism.” Senate republicans blocked the 9-11 health bill in its first key senate vote by “sticking to a party pledge to block anything until the tax deal extending the Bush-era cuts for the wealthy passes”. Here are the details from the New York Daily news.
Tombstone volunteer jumps into action as his own home burns: An interesting story from Arizona about a disabled volunteer firefighter and a fire that destroyed his apartment & his pickup truck. But he went to work trying to keep the fire from spreading. Here it is.
Bomb house goes down: It was the largest amount of certain homemade explosives ever found in one spot. The house was burned to the ground yesterday. The raw video is above. Click here for the background on the story from Escondido, California.
Firefighter Chance Zobel.
According to The State, 34-year-old Neida Ortega, charged with causing the collision on I-20, is in the United States illegally and is now facing deportation proceedings. The firefighters were putting out a brush fire along the highway.
Neida Ortega.
“She acknowledged that she was not in this country legally,” said S.C. Highway Patrol Col. Kenny Lancaster.
“Federal officers from ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) went to her house before she left for work,” he said.She did have a license, but it was from Mexico, said Lancaster. “She said she had lived here 10 years.”
Keep checking SConFire.com for the latest developments and details on the funeral for Chance Zobel.
On Monday morning a Jackson County Deputy Sheriff Gary Cox received only minor injuries after he was forced to jump from his moving cruiser while he was responding to a robbery call. Sheriff Stan Evans said the propane-powered vehicle caught fire as Cox attempted to light a cigarette. Here’s more in excerpts from an article by Justin Gray at WAGA-TV:
“He was traveling down the road like you or I but evidently there was propane inside the passenger compartment,” said Sheriff Evans.
The sheriff says that propane caught fire so fast, Deputy Cox jumped out of the car at 50 miles an hour.
“He exited the vehicle while the vehicle was still moving, saved his life I’m sure,” said Evans.
The explosion happened in front of Gary Blakley’s home.
“When I saw that car I didn’t know what to think. It [sort of] scared me. I said whoever is driving that car evidently got killed,” said Blakley.
More from Joe Johnson at OnlineAthens.com:
Officials have launched an investigation to determine if the fire was caused by a propane leak, according to Maj. David Cochran, chief deputy at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office has suspended the use of propane to power its fleet of patrol cars, Cochran said.
“We don’t know if there was a leak of some kind,” Cochran said. “We have suspended propane usage until engineers from the company that sold us the (propane) conversion kits can inspect the car and find out what happened,” he said.
Cox was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for first-degree burns to his face and arms, then released.
When converting a police car, contractors install a bullet-resistant propane tank in the trunk, then connect it to a component that uses heat from the car’s engine to vaporize the liquid propane and inject the gaseous fuel into the engine cylinders.
The cars can run on either propane or gasoline, at the flick of a switch.
A Metropolitan Police SUV slammed into a “Transformers 3″ car while the movie was filming in SW Monday afternoon.
During the filming of the scene, in front of the American Indian Museum at 3rd Street and Maryland Avenue, SW, the K9 Unit, responding to a call, slammed into “BumbleBee,” as that sports car from the film was driving through the intersection.
The area had been cordoned off by Metropolitan Police, as part of a number of street closings to accommodate the film crews working in town this week. A number of people had gathered to watch the film being shot.
The collision occurred during the filming of a chase scene. Both drivers walked away uninjured, and we believe the dog was also uninjured.
Read details of January 21, 2008 incident
A 20-year-old volunteer firefighter is in stable condition and being evaluated at the trauma unit at Prince George’s Hospital Center after falling out of a responding fire engine this afternoon. Prince George’s County Fire/Rescue Department Battalion Chief Denise Dickens tells STATter911.com the firefighter tumbled from the rig at Addison Road and 60th Avenue around 2:00 PM as Engine 838 from Chapel Oaks VFD responded to a report of a house fire in Temple Hills, Maryland.
Dickens says a reserve PGFD engine was being used at the Chapel Oaks Station. She could not say if the firefighter was wearing a seatbelt or which model engine was in use.
As STATter911.com reported after a similar incident on January 21, 2008, the department has had issues with the door latches on older model Seagrave engines used as department reserve units. In that case a volunteer with Bladensburg VFD fell out of a 1989 PGFD Seagrave on Route 450 at Edmonston Road. It was determined that the firefighter was not wearing a seatbelt and that there had been other incidents where doors have popped open on that model engine. Here is part of the statement from PGFD Chief Spokesman Mark Brady after the 2008 incident:
On this particular unit and the majority of our similar units the interior door latches are designed to open the door when the lever is pulled upward. There is a stop on the lever to prevent the lever from going down. However, if lever is overpowered in the down position it will break the stop and permit the door to open from the inside by pulling the lever up or pushing it down. The unit was inspected this morning and found that both rear cab doors would open by pushing the lever down. This situation will be corrected prior to it going back in service.
We could not find any issue with the seat belts. They are operating normal.
Following a similar incident with Fire/EMS Station 807, the Safety Office conducted a survey to determine if there were any other vehicles with a similar issue. Those units were identified and corrected at that time. Apparently, it does not take a lot of effort to over ride the lever stop in the down position and any unit that is found to have this condition is repaired as soon as possible by Apparatus Maintenance.
Above is the audio from Thursday night’s incident in Kern County, California where a car drove head-on into Truck 41. Here are more details from from FirefighterCloseCalls.com:
At 20:02 hours last night, the Kern County (CA) Fire Department responded to a vehicle crash involving one of Kern County Fire Department’s own ladder trucks. An additional 17 Kern County firefighters responded to the incident. The crew of Truck 41 from Virginia Colony provided immediate assistance to the victims of their accident.
Upon arrival, additional crews were faced with a vehicle that had struck the ladder truck head on while traveling on Hwy 178. The ladder truck, which is based in east Bakersfield was returning from a previous incident in Kern Canyon heading west bound when the crash occurred. Two persons in the car were declared deceased by Paramedics on scene. No injuries were sustained to the Firefighters in the ladder truck.
The reason the Honda Civic carrying Melissa Hope Aguinaga, 36, and Arthur Alvarez Aguinaga, 35, entered the fire truck’s path is not yet known, Bakersfield police Detective Blaine Craig said. The BPD is investigating the crash.
Craig said there was no immediate evidence that alcohol was involved. Autopsies and toxicology reports will be performed, and investigators will examine the car to see if it was functioning properly.
The Aguinagas were driving eastbound on Highway 178 just east of Rancheria Road when they hit a Kern County Fire Department ladder truck at 8:02 p.m. Thursday, according to a coroner’s office news release. The Aguinagas died at the scene. No firefighters were injured.
Firefighter Darin Griffin, 39, the driver of the truck, and Capt. Gilbert Tinoco, 49, would not be commenting on the crash, Fire Capt. Brandon Smith said.
This morning’s Washington Post article by Matt Zapotosky on the deadly ambulance wreck in Prince George’s County highlights conflicting information about the collision coming from the chief spokesmen for PGFD and PGPD. At issue is the speed of the SUV that struck Ambulance 826:
Maj. Andrew Ellis, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County police department, said that the initial investigation indicates excessive speed was not a factor and that there were no immediate indications that alcohol or drugs were involved.
But Mark Brady, a fire department spokesman, said speed was an obvious factor, pointing to the distance the SUV traveled, the extensive damage to the ambulance and the ambulance’s dashboard camera video as evidence. Brady declined to release that video, saying county police had asked the fire department not to do so while the investigation continues.
“I’ll go on record as saying speed certainly was a factor in the crash,” he said.
Ellis refuted some media reports that said the SUV was going more than 100 mph. He said that he discussed speed calculations with the accident investigator and that the suggestion the SUV was going that fast was “absolutely absurd.”
More on the crash from WUSA9.com:
It was an horrific scene on the 5600 block of Marlboro Pike: an SUV torn to pieces and a few yards away, an ambulance ripped apart.
Remarkably the two firefighters in the ambulance, 22 year old Ed Godwin and 27 year old Kelli Kivett, walked away from the crash early Thursday morning. However, the 3 men inside the SUV died instantly. Atolvise Jones said her friend, 30 year old Emmanuel Jones, was a father of two live. He lived with his parents just a half a mile away from the crash scene.
“I was trying to call him around 3 this morning and the phone kept going to voice mail,” she said, “and then I saw the news and I thought, I hope that’s not him.”
Jones was traveling with his cousin, 22 year Andre Watley and friend 35 year old Tony Burney both of DC. Firefighters said dramatic video from the ambulance’s dash board camera showed the seconds before the crash: Jones’ SUV barreling down the wrong side of the street straight toward the ambulance which was operating with it’s lights and sirens.
“Almost in a blink of an eye the vehicle was on top of him,” said PG County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Mark Brady. The 22 year old firefighter swerved to avoid a head-on collision. It was a split second decision that saved his and his partner’s lives. Thankfully, the ambulance was not carrying any patients at the time. It had just pulled out of the station, a couple of blocks from the scene, to respond to an overdose call a mile away.
“I’m quite confident, with the excessive speed the truck was traveling, that if it were a head on collision there would have been fatal injuries.”
It was a close call for the firefighter family and a devastating morning call for the victim’s family and friends. “I’m hurt and I’m shocked,” said Jones, “he’s not supposed to be dead right now.”
Police continue to investigate whether drugs or alcohol played factors in the crash.
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