By Theodore Decker
The Columbus Dispatch
WESTERVILLE-BLENDON TWP, Ohio — Five people, including three firefighters, escaped serious injury yesterday afternoon when a Westerville-Blendon Township fire engine collided with a tow truck and rolled over on the Northeast Side.
Columbus police Sgt. Isaac Bridges said the crash occurred shortly before 4 p.m. near Minerva Park as the firetruck, responding to a medical call, headed north on Westerville Road with its emergency lights and sirens on.
The driver of a southbound car slowed and stopped to yield for the approaching engine, Bridges said. The driver of the tow truck, which was towing a minivan, was behind the car and apparently didn’t see it stop, he said. In an attempt to avoid the car, the tow-truck driver swerved across the center line, clipping the back of the engine.
The engine swerved to avoid the tow truck and went off the side of the road, where it struck a culvert and rolled onto its side.
The three firefighters on board were treated at the scene for minor injuries. The tow-truck driver and his wife, a passenger, were taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital. They reportedly were in stable condition last night with injuries that weren’t life-threatening. Their names were not available last night.
The crash closed Westerville Road near Rt. 161 for more than two hours. The tow-truck driver was charged with failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.
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