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NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation Reports for "Motor Vehicle - Struck-by" Incidents

  • Texas: Tow Truck Driver Struck and Killed

    North Carolina State Troopers said a family from Florida’s vehicle had broken down on the side of the highway and a wrecker service was called to assist them. Forty-four-year-old Jeffery Allen Rackley, of Jeff’s Wrecker Service in Rocky Mount, was struck and killed by a driver as he prepared to hook up the van to the rollback, officials said. Troopers said the driver, Paul Joseph Dattari 67, of Raeford, ran off the road to the right, sideswiped the van and struck Rackley. Dattari also hit the rollback in the midst of the crash, causing it to flip its car multiple times. Another story can be found at: http://www.wilsontimes.com/News/Feature/Story/34832831---TOW-TRUCK-DRIVER-DIES-IN-WRECK

  • North Carolina: Deputy Killed When Tractor-Trailer Overturns on His Cruiser

    Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Wayne Greene, Union County (NC) Sheriff's Office was killed in a vehicle crash on November 19, 2014 when a tractor trailer overturned on top of his cruiser. Deputy Greene is the second law enforcement fatality from the State of North Carolina in 2014. Another story can be found at: http://www.wcti12.com/news/tractortrailer-overturns-killing-nc-deputy/29818388

  • Israel: Israeli Police Officer Run Over, Killed

    A driver of a commercial van ran over pedestrians at a train stop in eastern Jerusalem on Wednesday, killing an Israeli border police officer and injuring 13 other people before getting out of his vehicle and attacking people with a metal bar, Israeli police said. Police shot and killed the attacker, identified by Israeli authorities as a member of the Islamist Hamas movement and a resident of the Shuafat Palestinian refugee camp in eastern Jerusalem, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

  • Wisonsin: Hundreds Remember Tow Truck Driver

    Over 100 wrecker operators came together to raise awareness for the Move Over Law after one of their own was hit and killed earlier this week. On Monday, Nathan Walsh was helping a disabled car on I-94 when he was hit by a pick-up truck. According to the State Patrol, the pick-up truck didn't move over like the law requires it to. Thursday morning over 100 wrecker operators proceeded to Walsh's funeral in convoy. Those who worked closely with Walsh said seeing all the wrecker operators was overwhelming. Other stories can be found at: http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_6cfe4b4c-59a4-11e4-97d7-6b310b2e7f99.html http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_e94d1a40-5a6f-11e4-92f7-273c4a6692ce.html

  • Ohio: Tow Truck Drivers Take Part In Procession To Remember One Of Their Own

    John "Jack" Carpenter was struck and killed while helping a stranded driver on state Route 104 last month. On Thursday, October 9, 2014 tow truck drivers held a procession from the funeral home in Worthington to the cemetery off Sunbury Road in Columbus. Some of the tow truck drivers handed out hats as people arrived at the funeral. They all said "Slow Down, Move Over, It's the Law." They say in addition to saying goodbye to their friend, they wanted to spread an important message. Tow truck drivers say they have a passion for the job, and when they get the call, they just go. The call on Thursday was for help saying good-bye to one of their own.

  • Ohio: Tow-Truck Driver Killed While Doing his Job

    Jack Carpenter had been towing cars for most of his life. He’d had lots of close calls out on the roads. Most wrecker drivers do. On Monday night, while hooking a woman’s broken-down car to his truck on the South Side, he became a chilling reminder of the dangers tow-truck drivers face on the job. Carpenter, 55, was on Rt. 104 near Lockbourne Road, working with his truck’s lights on, when a car drifted off the road about 9:15 p.m., Columbus police said. Carpenter was struck and killed. He is the second tow-truck driver to be killed on the job in Columbus in the past two years. Three other cars were struck on the berm, but no one else was injured, police said. The driver who hit Carpenter had 16 oxycodone pills in his pocket, according to a police report filed in Franklin County Municipal Court. Brian N. Spencer, 31, of 1942 S. Champion Ave. on the South Side, was arrested and charged with possession of drugs after he was treated at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center. He was in the Franklin County jail yesterday. Additional charges could be filed after toxicology tests are completed, police said. Mark Jones, owner of A&A Towing, dispatched his friend of many years on the call 20 minutes before Carpenter was killed. “It’s a loss, I can tell you that,” Jones said. Carpenter, who lived on the North Side, had been working for Jones for the past four years but had been towing long before that. When he wasn’t towing, he loved playing cards. Everyone went home a little poorer after playing Texas hold ’em with Carpenter. He is survived by a daughter, siblings and his mother, Jones said. Drivers at Broad & James Autocare & Towing knew how Jones and his colleagues were feeling yesterday. One of their own, William Houck, 60, was hooking up a disabled vehicle along northbound I-71 when a drunken driver drifted off the road and killed him on Sept. 29, 2012. Last year, Thomas G. Frederick was sentenced to 81/2 years in prison for Houck’s death. Carpenter’s death “hits home,” Broad & James owner Tim Shriner said. “For everybody here, it hits especially hard.” In his business, drivers must remain alert to the speeding traffic that’s often inches away, Shriner said. “Cars are coming at you at 70-plus miles per hour,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do but do your best to get out of the way.” Jones would like to see police set up decoy trucks and ticket people who don’t move over, as required by law. And he’d like to see the fines doubled, just as they are in construction zones. “Slow down and move over, not just for us,” Jones said. “Any time you see amber lights, man, just get over.”

  • North Carolina: Tow Truck Driver Struck and Killed by Passing Semi-Ttruck

    The North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating a deadly wreck on Highway 220 near Stoneville Tuesday night that killed a tow truck driver. Trooper S. F. Lynch said Jennifer Lyne Brown, 37, of Reidsville was loading a car with a blown tire that was partially in the right-hand lane onto her tow truck when she was struck by a semi-trailer. According to Lynch, the truck had its yellow warning lights on and Brown was wearing a reflective vest but the driver of the semi failed to move into the left lane.

  • Kentucky: Firefighter Struck and Killed

    Jonathan French a Firefighter from Glendale (KY) was killed in the Line of Duty this mornings. The crash involved a tractor-trailer and a Glendale VFD fire apparatus on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky. The crash happened around 0400 in Hardin County near mile 91. Another Firefighter was critically injured. The injured firefighter was his mother Lisa French. Initial reports indicate they were operating at a car fire when the incident occurred.Much more details to follow. Our condolences to all affected. Other stories can be found at: http://www.whas11.com/news/KSP-working-fatal-accident-near-Glendale-exit-off-I-65S-270134371.html http://www.wave3.com/story/26209597/fatal-accident-involving-fire-truck-semi-on-65-south http://www.wlky.com/news/1-person-dead-after-semi-fire-truck-collide-on-i65-s/27330392?absolute=true http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mother-and-son-firefighters-injured-killed-in-interstate-crash/ http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2024252040_apxfiretruckcrash.html?syndication=rss

  • New Jersey: Waldwick Officer Killed in Highway Struck-By Incident

    A police officer operating radar on a New Jersey roadway was struck and killed by a tractor trailer Thursday, authorities said. Officer Christopher Goodell, 32, was a five-year veteran of the force and recently engaged. He was working for the Waldwick Police Department when he was killed, officials said. A tractor trailer traveling down Route 17 struck the officer near Bergen Avenue about 1:30 a.m., according to John Molinelli, Bergen County prosecutor. It happened in Waldwick, a borough of about 9,600 in Bergen County. Other stories can be found at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/waldwick-police-officer-32-struck-killed-by-tractor-trailer-on-route-17-1.1052893 http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/07/17/waldwick-police-officer-killed-in-crash-with-tractor-trailer/

  • Kentucky: Tow Truck Driver Struck and Killed by Alleged Drunk Driver

    The Jefferson County coroner has identified a Louisville tow truck driver killed in a hit and run in south Louisville Thursday night. Jewan Turner, 35, was in the emergency lane working on a car off Beulah Church Road, at the Gene Snyder, when the collision happened. Emergency crews tried to revive him, but he died at the scene. An hour later, police arrested Paula Oppel for Turner's murder. She remains at Metro Corrections on a $25,000 cash bond, charged with murder, DUI, and leaving the scene. She'll face arraignment Saturday morning. Other stories can be found at: http://www.wlky.com/news/woman-accused-of-driving-drunk-killing-tow-truck-driver-faces-judge/26810640 http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Memorial-planned-for-tow-truck-driver-killed-265869591.html

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