21-year-old man in serious condition
By Jennifer Menster
Hickory Daily Record
CATAWBA, N.C. — He is so dedicated to fighting fires he joined two volunteer departments - Catawba and West Iredell. Most nights he can be found at Catawba or West Iredell, watching television, hanging out with fellow firefighters and waiting for a call. Poole, 21, responds to most calls within either district.
So it wasn’t unusual to see Poole, 21, around midnight Saturday at a grass woods fire on Hewitt Road in Catawba. What was anything but routine for firefighters was rescuing Poole from a vehicle crash 30 minutes later.
Poole was less than a mile from the woods fire on Hewitt Road when he failed to stop for a stop sign at the intersection of N.C. 10. An approaching vehicle struck Poole on the driver’s side of his Toyota pickup truck. Poole was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center and later taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. Poole is in stable but serious condition.
Full Story: Firefighter returning from call injured in wreck