North Carolina Fire Truck Rolls After Collision

April 10, 2012
A firefighter and an EMT as well as a truck driver were hurt in the I-40 wreck.

A collision between a fire truck and a rig carrying frozen chicken Monday night left three people hurt including an EMT and a firefighter.

The wreck happened in the eastbound lanes of I-40 around 5:45 p.m. when the rig rear-ended the fire truck belonging to the Center Volunteer Fire Department, according to WGHP.

Firefighter Rusty Benson and EMT Jeff Barney as well as the truck driver, Jahres Caldwell of Concord, were hurt. All suffered non life-threatening injuries and were taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for observation, troopers told reporters.

The wreck occurred as the volunteers were responding to a three-car wreck. Benson, who was driving the fire department vehicle, began to slow down when the tractor-trailer rear-ended it, troopers said.

The impact forced the fire truck to flip twice, while the tractor-trailer traveled another 100 yards before turning onto its side, troopers said.

Other drivers, including a nurse, got out of their cars and tended to the injured until paramedics arrived.

Caldwell was charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and not wearing a seat belt, the station reported.

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