Three Fla. Firefighters Hurt in Fire Engine Crash

March 31, 2013
Three Lake Worth firefighters were hurt when the engine they were in heading to a fire collided with a car at an intersection. The car's driver was seriously injured.

March 31--LAKE WORTH -- Three firefighters and one civilian were injured Saturday when a fire engine on its way to a scene collided with a Honda Accord at the intersection of North Dixie Highway and Lucerne Avenue, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.

Fire Engine 91 was headed to the 700 block of South E Street, where an abandoned home was reported ablaze at 12:17 p.m., said Palm Beach Fire Rescue spokesman Capt. Albert Borroto. The truck had its emergency lights and sirens on as it traveled west on Lucerne. The Honda, traveling north on North Dixie Highway, entered the intersection through a green light and crashed into the fire truck, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

The Honda driver, identified later as Nerin Palma-Velasquez, 22, of Lake Worth, was taken by a Trauma Hawk helicopter to the Delray Trauma Center, where he was in serious condition as of Saturday evening.

The names of the injured firefighters were not disclosed. Borroto described their injuries as minor, adding that one was treated at the crash scene while the other two were taken to JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, south of Lake Worth.

Other firefighters made it to South E Street and quickly brought the fire under control, Borroto said.

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Copyright 2013 - Sun Sentinel

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