too close to home

The firetruck involved is from the department my dad, cousins and hubby are all with.  So very thankful all are safe.  My dad was not on shift last night but did head to one of the stations to drive the tanker to the fire.  Hubby was in transition mode of changing from banking clothes to fire uniform.  Cousin 1 is on vacay, cousin 2 was either in route to pick up his son from daycare, at home or in same transition mode as Marcus.

  

  
JEFF HARRELL
South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
8:48 a.m. EDT, September 15, 2011

A "perfect storm" collision of emergency vehicles at a busy Clay Township intersection left a firefighter, police officer and a civilian motorist hospitalized and a firetruck flipped on its side.

The accident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday when a Clay Fire Territory truck carrying three firefighters and headed east on Cleveland Road to a residential fire on Glen Lee Trail was reportedly struck by a Roseland Police Department vehicle headed north on Juniper Road responding to a motor vehicle accident near Auten Road.

Witnesses said a St. Joseph County sheriff's officer had pulled into the busy intersection at Cleveland and Juniper to block traffic as both the fire and police vehicles hit the intersection at the same time.

It was uncertain which vehicle the sheriff's officer had set up the block for, witnesses said, noting that the Roseland vehicle appeared to clip the sheriff's vehicle before slamming into the firetruck.

The collision spun the police vehicle and sent the firetruck veering out of control on the rain-slick roadway.

"It almost looked like it floated in air," said witness Duane Rosenthal, who was westbound on Cleveland when he stopped for the blocked intersection.

Rosenthal said the firetruck collided with another car driven by a civilian motorist, then spun and flipped onto its driver's side.

"It happened so fast," Rosenthal said. "I'm 77 years old. In all my years I never saw anything like that before."

"It was quite stunning to see something like that happen all of a sudden," said witness Mike Johnson, who had also stopped on Cleveland Road to allow "several police cars" to pass through the intersection.

Two firefighters in the truck escaped uninjured, but the driver was pinned to the ground in the driver's seat and had to be pulled out through the skyward passenger door by fellow firefighters.

The firefighter was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with "non-life-threatening" injuries, said Clay Fire Territory Chief John Vance.

The civilian motorist and the Roseland police officer were also transported to an area hospital. Injuries to both were also "non-life-threatening," Vance said.

The Roseland police vehicle sat in the intersection with heavy damage along the driver's side. The sheriff's car remained a few feet away with damage to the rear fender and taillight.

The civilian's vehicle was also heavily damaged.

Vance, who valued the firetruck at "a half-million dollars," said he spoke with the injured firefighter by phone.

"He said he's very upset about the truck," Vance said.

"Firetrucks can be replaced," Vance added. "We're just happy he's OK."
Staff writer Jeff Harrell: jharrell@sbtinfo.com 574-235-6368