By News Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The family of a man who died after the car he was driving was broadsided by a DC Fire & EMS truck last year has filed a $15 million lawsuit against city officials and the firefighter who was driving that day.
According to a press release issued the same day the suit was filed, T’Anita Green, who was married to Deangelo Green, claims that a “long history of inaction led to the fatal collision between a fire truck and a Honda passenger car.”
The crash occurred March 9, 2018, when a DC Fire & EMS truck was responding to a call about the smell of smoke. The truck drove through a red light at an intersection, striking the Honda driven by Deangelo Green. The fire truck, which had its lights and sirens on, t-boned Green’s Honda.
Officials later announced that the dash cam on the front of the fire truck did not record the fatal incident. The camera did not have a memory card installed at the time of the crash.
According to WTOP, a report released earlier this year concluded that the primary cause of the collision was Green’s failure to yield the right of way to the emergency vehicle. The report, compiled by the D.C. Police Major Crash Investigations Unit, also found Green was operating his vehicle while intoxicated.
Officials also noted speed was a contributing factor to the crash. Engine 26 was traveling nearly 55 miles per hour, which was 25 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
The report said the firefighter “failed to slow down as may be necessary for safe operation when approaching the intersection.”
The lawsuit is asking for a judgement in favor of Green’s widow and his six children for $15 million.
The suit alleges DC Fire & EMS has a long history of mismanaging emergency vehicle training courses and disregarded a 2013 audit calling for mandatory Emergency Vehicle Operations Courses for all apparatus operators graduating from probation.
A representative from the DC Office of the Attorney General declined to comment on the lawsuit.
DC fire truck fatal crash lawsuit by Ed Praetorian on Scribd