COWETA COUNTY, Ga. --
A Coweta County firefighter is recovering after wrecking his fire truck Sunday. Troopers said it appears the wreck happened because he was driving too fast as he tried to negotiate a turn.
Josh Gould is in stable condition at Atlanta Medical Center, according to a hospital spokesman.
Gould has been with the department since 3/16/2010.
Jake Smith was also hurt and taken to Piedmont Newnan Hospital and released. He has been with the department since 3/15/2010.
Lee McCrobie saw the wreck from his front porch. “We heard, then saw, a fire engine sliding on its side down a big ditch,” said McCrobie.
McCrobie said the firefighter was trapped inside the truck near Franklin Road and Dixon Road.
“The were all hysterical. They were asking if one of the other firefighters was alright. They said his name was Josh and they said, ‘Josh, can you respond? Can you respond?’ He said, ‘Yes, but I can’t feel my back. My back is hurting.’ He said he couldn’t feel his legs,” said McCrobie.
He said rescue crews used the Jaws of Life to cut the firefighter out of the truck.
“The fireman’s head was bleeding and they were trying to get him up out of the side of the truck,” McCrobie said.
A second firefighter was treated at an area hospital after suffering minor injuries, authorities said.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, the first trooper who arrived on the scene noted that Gould had been driving 50 miles an hour on Dixon Road, and was driving too fast as he tried to negotiate the turn onto Georgia Hwy. 34.
A final report will be completed in a couple of days, troopers said.
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