Tenn. Crews Respond to Comrade's Crash With Horse
Source The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
KINGSTON, Tenn. -- When volunteer firefighters in Roane County responded Tuesday night to a report of a car colliding with a horse, they didn't know the driver would be one of their own.
Critically injured was 18-year-old Caleb Wilson, flown by medical helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
Wilson, a senior at Roane County High School, was in a medically-induced coma Wednesday in the hospital's intensive care unit.
Wilson became a full-time firefighter with the East Roane County Volunteer Fire Department in September.
"We're all praying for him," said Fire Chief David Maupin.
Wilson's southbound Ford Focus collided with a full-grown horse that stepped directly in front of his vehicle on Highway 58 about 100 yards from the Gallaher Road interchange with Interstate 40.
The 6:30 p.m. collision "literally ripped the top of the car off," Kingston Police Chief Jim Washam said.
The horse was killed, and officials Wednesday were still trying to determine how the animal got out of a nearby enclosed area.
The collision is under investigation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
Copyright 2012 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
