North Carolina Fire Truck Overturns En Route To Wreck

The Providence Volunteer Fire Department lost its fire engine Tuesday when it overturned on Berea Church Road while responding to a two-car traffic accident.

Jimmy Harris, chief of the PVFD, said the two firefighters on board were transported from the scene to Albemarle Hospital, but that their injuries were minor. He said he didn't know if the nine-year-old fire pumper is salvageable. To replace it, he said, would cost about $200,000.

State Trooper J.S. Hardison, who investigated, said the accident occurred when the fire engine's back right tire left the right side of pavement and slid into the ditch. For 40 yards, driver Leonard Overton, 24, fought to keep the sloshing, 1,000-gallon pumper on the road