FORT WORTH, Texas — A Fort Worth Fire Department crew narrowly avoided serious injury after a suspected drunk driver slammed into a fire engine, according to the department.
Engines 5 and 14 were dispatched around 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 1 to a reported single-vehicle crash at the U.S. 287 interchange southeast of downtown, the department said in a social media post. When firefighters from Engine 14 arrived, they initially couldn’t find the crash but came upon it while circling back to return to the station.
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To protect the scene, the driver of Engine 14 parked the fire truck at a 45-degree angle to shield the area from oncoming traffic.
“Within just seconds of our last firefighter stepping off of the apparatus, Engine 14 was struck by a truck traveling northbound,” the department said.
Officials said there is “absolutely no doubt that Engine 14 and the way it was parked to protect the incident scene saved the lives of our crew and the driver of the original crash.”
The two occupants of the pickup that hit the fire engine were trapped inside their vehicle. Firefighters extricated both and transported them to a nearby hospital. The driver of the initial single-vehicle crash was not injured.
The driver of the pickup, identified as a 24-year-old man, was arrested and faces a charge of intoxication assault with a vehicle, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Investigators believe the man was intoxicated, and his blood sample was collected for testing, police said.
No firefighters were injured.
The Fort Worth Fire Department emphasized the importance of slowing down and moving over for emergency vehicles. “Do not text and drive. Do not drink and drive. Do not drive while impaired or distracted,” the department wrote. “Although it was dark out, the lights from Engine 14 were illuminating the road. When you see emergency vehicle lights: SLOW DOWN and MOVE OVER. It’s not only the safest thing to do: it’s the law.”
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