Tenn. Firefighter Killed in Crash Involving Log Truck

Dec. 10, 2014
The Hardin County tanker and a log truck collided head-on.

A fire truck crash in Hardin County has left two dead, including a firefighter.

The Hardin County Fire Department tanker collided with a log truck around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Fire Chief Melvin Martin said volunteer firefighter Gus Losleben, who was stationed at District 6 (Olivet-Walkertown), was driving the rig. He served with the department for four years.

See Scene Photo

The tanker was westbound on Holland Creek Road when it collided head-on with the truck, which was eastbound. The rig was responding to a house fire in Walnut Grove.

Firefighters extricated Losleben from the fire truck, and he was flown to a Memphis hospital where he died. The driver of the log truck also was killed. 

The impact of the collision spilled logs onto the roadway.

“We will have to clear the scene and remove some of the logs before we are able to positively identify the driver,” Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Charlie Childers told the Courier.

"Please remember the Hardin County Fire Department and these families in your prayers," said a post on the fire department's Facebook page.

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