By Steve Smedley
The Pantagraph
LINCOLN, Ill. — Two firefighters and a civilian were injured Wednesday after a passenger van collided with a fire tanker truck in Lincoln.
The firefighters, from Lincoln Rural Fire Protection District, were taken to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield. The van’s driver was extricated by firefighters from Lincoln and Lincoln Rural, and taken to Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln.
Lincoln Rural Fire Chief Chris Buse said none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. “Thank God that no one was injured badly,” he said.
“This is a prime example of why people need to obey Scott’s Law,” Buse told The Pantagraph. “We’re on our way (to a call and) our tanker came into the intersection with lights and siren and a vehicle did not yield and collided with our tanker.”
The tanker, which carries 2,000 gallons of water, rolled onto its side and came to rest partially on the van. The accident occurred at the intersection of old Route 66 and Woodlawn Road. Southbound Route 66 remains closed.
The firefighters were responding to a brush fire along Interstate 55 at Elkhart when the accident occurred.
“There are countless times we’ve had close calls on the interstate, but not one right down the street from our station,” Buse said. “The bad thing is that this is going to be tough because that was our only tanker.”
Scott’s Law is a state law that requires motorists to slow down and pull over for emergency vehicles using their lights and sirens.
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