OH Firefighter OK after Apparatus Wreck

July 10, 2019
Liberty Township's fire chief says the firefighter who was sitting in a ladder truck hit by a semi was released after being checked out at a hospital.

Liberty Twp. Fire Chief Ethan Klussman said the firefighter who was hit by a semi truck is out of the hospital.

“He is home resting now,” Klussman said. “They evaluated him at the emergency room and he was released shortly after 4 a.m.”

The firefighter was in the driver’s side of his ladder truck helping with traffic detail after a crash shut down Interstate 75 when another truck hit the ladder truck.

Klussman said the fire truck suffered serious damage.

“I am going to call it severe damage,” he said, adding it is out of commission until the manufacturer can do a damage assessment.

Drowsy driving is to blame for a crash, according to troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The accident was reported just after midnight on the north side of the interstate across from Lakota East High School in West Chester Twp./Liberty Twp.

All lanes on I-75 were blocked due to the crash, but reopened around 2:20 a.m.

State troopers say crews were investigating a previous crash involving two semi-trucks on the interstate just north of Ohio 129 when the second collision occurred.

Both semi’s were disabled from the crash, with one blocking the right lane on I-75. 

The Liberty Twp. fire truck was assisting with traffic control in the previous crash, and was also blocking the right lane on the interstate with its overhead lights on. 

A semi traveling north failed to move over and struck the ladder. Both trucks suffered heavy damage in the crash. 

The semi-truck driver suffered minor injuries as well.

A crash investigation revealed the semi driver fell asleep while driving. The driver was cited for Assured Clear Distance Ahead (ACDA) and for driving a commercial vehicle with impaired alertness.

State troopers were assisted on scene by the Liberty Twp. Fire Department, the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, and the West Chester Twp. Fire Department.

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©2019 the Journal-News (Hamilton, Ohio)

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