Morgan Eads and Karla Ward
Lexington Herald-Leader
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The driver of a SUV involved in a collision Saturday with a Lexington fire engine has died of his injuries, according to the Fayette County Coroner’s Office.
Robert Lee Collins, 23, died of multiple blunt force injuries at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital at 2:44 p.m. Saturday, according to the coroner’s office. The crash happened at about 1:50 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
The fire engine was making a left turn from Harrodsburg Road onto Beaumont Centre Parkway when it collided with an SUV that was headed outbound on Harrodsburg, said Lexington police Lt. Samantha Moore.
Collins was the only person in the SUV, police said.
The three firefighters who were in the fire truck involved were not injured, fire Battalion Chief Jordan Saas said.
The firefighters were responding to a report of a gas leak in the Beaumont Circle area and had lights and sirens activated when the crash occurred, Saas said. Witnesses said the fire truck, Engine 20, had the right-of-way, he said.
The intersection was closed for hours while the police department’s collision reconstruction unit investigated, but the road has since re-opened.
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