A volunteer firefighter headed to a medical emergency was killed when his fire truck was hit as he crossed the railroad tracks in front of a freight train. According to the Associated Press, the accident occurred on the morning of December 24th.
Mansfield police said Shane Brown, 25, was broadsided by a Kansas City Southern freight train. The large pickup was dragged about 60 feet and caught on fire.
The accident happened about 5:30 a.m. on Pegues Street. The train's engineer told police he was sounding his horn before the accident. There were no crossing bars at that location.
Brown had worked for Fire District 8 in DeSoto Parish about eight years. Before that, he had been a volunteer firefighter. He recently became a paramedic to broaden his skills.
Outside the fire station today, flags were at half staff.
"He was very popular with other firemen. Well like," Fire Chief David Manning said. "I won't even try to describe that feeling" of losing one of his firefighters.
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