Most accidents are preventable, investigators say
By JUDI VILLA
The Arizona Republic (Arizona)
Engine 725 screamed down 67th Avenue, headed toward a fire.
The traffic was rush-hour heavy, and Phoenix Fire Engineer Tom Arnold steered the 35,000-pound truck into an oncoming traffic lane.
According to Phoenix Fire Department policy, Arnold should have been driving no more than 20 mph. Police estimate his speed at nearly three times that. When an impaired driver turned his two-door Nissan in front of the firetruck, Arnold couldn’t stop. He slammed into the driver’s door at 57 mph. Samuel Marrufo-Gonzalez, 25, was killed. The October accident was Arnold’s seventh in a fire vehicle.
Since 2002, Phoenix firefighters have been involved in more than 500 accidents, two-thirds of which could have been prevented, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of Fire Department records. And in recent years, the toll has gotten far worse than bent poles, broken firehouse doors and dented cars. Two civilians have been killed. A third was nearly killed, and a million-dollar ladder truck was totaled.
Full Story: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1220driving20.html