TENNESSEE MEDIC STRUCK BY TANKER TRUCK

The Wilson County Emergency Management Agency had to get help for one of its paramedics when she was hit by a tanker truck. The incident happened on Monday morning as crews responded to a large fire in the rural part of the county.

Brandy Miller, a long-time paramedic with WEMA, was almost smashed by a tanker truck in while directing emergency vehicles.

"(It) was an excessively dangerous scene because of where it was, because of the fire and because the driveway was so narrow," said WEMA Director John Jewell. Trucks had to make several trips to the fire hydrant down the road, so Miller stayed on the ground to direct crews in and out of the narrow driveway.

Kris Wienk, a part-time paramedic, was driving the tanker truck when Miller was hit.

It is not clear what went wrong, but Miller would have to be standing next to the truck so the driver could see her out of the side mirror, officials said.

"The ground person got caught between a fence post and the truck. Slow speeds, but she did get caught and her leg was broken," Jewell said.

Wienk has had trouble maneuvering the departments' large vehicles before. She was involved in an incident at the beginning of April in which she was suspended. She had just returned to work when the incident happened.

"A minor accident here on the lot, but we view those as somewhat serious and it that particular case she did not use a ground person, and she bumped into one of the command vehicles here," Jewell said of Wienk’s previous incident.

An emergency vehicle operations course is held for employees every year, but Wienk has only been with the department for three months and has only received some on-the-job driving training. Wienk remains an employee with the department while an investigation is under way to determine if any disciplinary action will be taken.