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La. FF jumps off overpass to avoid semi careening toward parked fire truck

The Lafayette Fire Department firefighter was seriously injured in the 20-foot fall

Laffirecrash.jpg

Photo/Lafayette Fire Department

Alison Cutler
The Charlotte Observer

LAFAYETTE, La. — A semi-truck driver has been charged after authorities accused him of barreling into a fire truck on a Louisiana highway, sending firefighters scrambling and causing one to plunge off the interstate overpass.

A firefighter crew was assisting with a crash on I-10 around 8:30 p.m. on March 9, KLFY reported.

While they were on-scene, an 18-wheeler careened into the parked fire truck, according to KLFY.

https://twitter.com/LafayetteFD_LA/status/1502352708052860929

One firefighter was forced to leap over the 20-foot overpass to evade the crash, the Lafayette Fire Department said in a Twitter post. The firefighter suffered severe injuries, but they were not life-threatening, the department said.

Both the firefighter and the driver of the semi-truck were transported to a local hospital, Lafayette police told The Advocate.

Officers said they later discovered that the driver of the semi, 51-year-old Nathan A. Martin, had open containers of alcohol while driving the truck, the Daily Advertiser reported.

Martin was charged with failure to yield to an emergency vehicle, open alcohol container, operating while under the influence and vehicular negligent injuring, the outlet reported.

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