FLORIDA FIREFIGHTER INJURED WHEN ENGINE IS STRUCK BY 18-WHEELER
A firefighter was injured Saturday on Interstate 4 when an 18-wheeler slammed into a Orange County Fire Rescue Department truck that had responded to an earlier crash.The incident happened on westbound I-4 between Kennedy Boulevard and Lee Road about 2:30 a.m. when a tractor-trailer lost control in the rain and hit a guardrail. Fire crews arrived to clean up the fuel spill from the accident and blocked two lanes of traffic with a fire engine as required by their safety policy.
A second truck - pulling two trailers - then hit the fire engine. A firefighter was in the cab of the struck vehicle but was only slightly injured and finished working the shift. Authorities noted that this incident shows the importance of the department policy for protecting firefighters working accident scenes.
State law in Florida requires that motorists move over when approaching stopped emergency vehicles with flashing lights. If it's impossible to keep an empty lane between their vehicle and the emergency vehicles, then they must slow down to 20 mph below the posted limit.
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