ST. PETERS, Mo. -- The driver of a pickup who was killed after crashing into the back of a fire truck on Interstate 70 Thursday apparently struck the fire truck after swerving to avoid a police car, officials say. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.
The fire truck and police car were both on the interstate, near the Mid Rivers Mall Drive exit, to help with a medical emergency that happened moments earlier on westbound I-70.
The Missouri Highway Patrol, which is investigating the crash, identified the driver who died as Chad Zaiz, 30, of O'Fallon, Mo.
The crash happened at 12:18 a.m. Thursday on westbound I-70 at the Mid Rivers Mall Drive exit. The Highway Patrol said the fire truck was parked in the second lane from the left.
Three lanes of westbound I-70 were closed for about five hours as police investigated the crash. All lanes were reopened by 5 a.m. Thursday.
The fire truck, operated by a crew from the Central County Fire and Rescue, had been on the interstate to help an ambulance crew with a medical emergency involving a motorist on the interstate.
The fire truck was hit as it was parked in the fast lane on the far left side of the westbound lanes, said Steve Brown, assistant fire chief for the Central County Fire and Rescue.
A St. Peters police car was behind the fire truck, some distance back, to help direct traffic. Brown couldn't say for sure how far back the police car was.
The driver of the pickup "swerved to miss the ... police car and made a hard turn back" into the fast lane, striking the fire truck, Brown said.
Brown said the fire truck's emergency lights were on at the time.
Zaiz, the pickup's driver, died at the scene. An autopsy and toxicology tests are pending. Zaiz was driving a 2002 Ford F-150.
Five firefighters were on board the fire truck. They were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated. Four were uninjured, Brown said. One was slightly injured and was expected to return to work on Friday, Brown said.
All five were seated in the truck and wearing seatbelts when the truck was rear-ended, Brown said. The firefighters were waiting in the fire truck to leave. The victim they had come to help -- on westbound I-70 west of Spencer Road overpass -- had already been loaded into an amublance. They were waiting for the ambulance to drive away, Brown said.
Brown, who wasn't at the scene, initially thought the fire truck was parked inf the far left lane, or "fast lane." However, the Highway Patrol's report says the fire truck was in lane 2, or the second lane from the left.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said three of the four westbound lanes there were closed until 4:52 a.m. Thursday while police investigated the crash.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
