Kansas City, Mo. Firefighter Seriously Injured

Feb. 16, 2011
A Kansas City fire truck and a car hit head-on in the 6200 block of Red Bridge Road on Tuesday afternoon, seriously injuring a firefighter.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. --

A Kansas City fire truck and a car hit head-on in the 6200 block of Red Bridge Road on Tuesday afternoon, seriously injuring a firefighter.

Police said the pumper truck was headed east when it collided with a car that crossed the center line. The truck then crashed into a utility pole and a tree.

Wakisha Briggs said she was home with a sore back and heard the crash echo through the neighborhood.

"(I heard) the sirens from the fire truck and then a big boom. I went outside and and I saw the car spinning," she said.

Fire Department Battalion Chief Joe Vitale said one firefighter was taken to a hospital. He later identified the firefighter as 21-year veteran Jeffrey Smith and said he was in serious, but stable condition Tuesday evening. The four other firefighters in the truck were either unharmed or suffered only minor injuries.

A woman driving the car went to a hospital with minor injuries, and a 3-year-old child in the car was not hurt.

Briggs said she went to help the woman.

"I ran and got the baby out of the back first. Then I went and got the mother out and covered them with a blanket," she said.

Vitale said the fire crew was on its way to a medical call when the accident happened. KMBC's Johnny Rowlands reported that the crash happened about a block away from the fire station.

Copyright 2011 by KMBC.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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