History in the Movies columns
4 years ago
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Hubbys accident
Click the above link to the news article (with photos) of the firetruck accident my husband was in last month. He was the driver of the firetruck and received 12 staples in the top of his head along with some cracked ribs.
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4 comments:
some of the hazards of the fantastic job they do.
Cor blimey Leigh, is he ok.
As of the last update from the Sheriff's office (investigating party) it was ruled against the woman by failure to control a motor vehicle. She was avoiding a collision with another car and fishtailed out into the oncoming lane. The fire truck literally ran over her side of the car (sorry for the graphic descript). The truck was airborne not once, but twice, and everything inside including those firemen were flying debris. Only two had seatbelts (ahem...). Autopsy report is pending publication.
I went to her funeral, she had a lovely family and she was really loved by alot of people. Our firemen and paramedics did all they could to save her, but her injuries were too severe. All I kept thinking was, this could be my husband's funeral I am sitting at. Talk about a reality check.
And Kevin, fire truck accidents are not rare, they happen quite frequently. This was a first for our station, however, and everyone was extremely lucky. No one understands how Pete managed to hang on to that truck to keep it from rolling over.
Well, the truck was a write off. And we only had about $200k left to pay on it (ha ha).
We claimed the maximum amount on her insurance (which was only about $50k) and then claimed the rest on ours. We've paid off the loan on the wrecked one, it's been sold to salvage now and we're shopping for a new one.
The wrecked one was an American LaFrance and I am COMPLETELY confident with the safety features built in to American LaFrance...(duh..wonder why?) but we are looking at all of the manufacturers at this point.
Presently, we are without a rescue truck but we've doubled the duty on the Ladder truck so the Ladder truck rolls for each auto accident presently. Quite a sight to behold, that huge beast rolling down the road at full speed!!
I sit on the Board of Directors at the fire department so I get to help choose the replacement.
The attendance of the funeral was purely selfish. I needed the closure and it was very cathardic for me. There were a few of us that attended, the Chief of the Department, the EMS Chief, one of the girls that provided CPR on the lady, and one of the firemen who helped rescue my husband. Two of her five children came over to thank us, but I doubt if they knew it was my husband that was driving the truck. We just sat in the back of the church.
Hubby is feeling better although he says he still sees the 'video' in his head at times. He got back behind the wheel of the firetruck within a week after the accident. The Assistant Chief took him out for a ride and then told him to get over behind the wheel. He was a new man after that!!!
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