MILL CREEK, Pa. — An assistant fire chief in Pa. is being credited with saving the lives of his crew after taking the wheel of a fire truck when the operator suffered a medical emergency Monday.
Five members of the Mill Creek Volunteer Fire Company were injured when the apparatus crashed into a building.
Police say the incident happened when the driver suffered a medical emergency and lost control of the vehicle.
Assistant Chief Wayne Coughenour, who was sitting up front with the driver, Mark Snyder, may have been a hero, Chief Mike Swanger told The Altoona Mirror.
“The assistant chief saw him in a seizure and grabbed the steering wheel and probably saved their lives,” Chief Swanger said. “He crashed into the building; if not, it would have gone down a more than a 200-foot embankment.”
Snyder and Assistant Chief Coughenour were airlifted to the hospital. Snyder has since been released, and Assistant Chief Coughenour is being treated for fractures and a head injury. Three other firefighters were taken by ambulance to the hospital with minor injuries.