Police release details in triple-fatal crash
FirefighterNation Staff
PHOENIX, Arizona — Details from a police investigation into a fatal 2019 response crash have been released, according to ABC15.com.
On April 7, 2019 Phoenix Engine 18 was responding to a call when it collided with a pickup truck.
The engine overturned in a schoolyard and three people in the pickup truck were killed.
All the firefighters on the fire engine were injured.
The speed limit on Bethany Home Road were the collision occurred was 40 miles per hour.
Police say that data from the fire engine showed it was traveling at 69 miles per hour before the crash.
Accident reconstructionists indicate that the speed at the point of impact was 61 miles per hour.
Phoenix Fire Department policy states that apparatus responding to emergencies must not exceed the posted speed limit by 10 miles per hour.
The driver of Engine 18 told a police investigator that he believed the pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed, as if trying to intentionally hit the engine.
Reconstructionists estimated that the pickup truck was traveling at 10 miles per hour when it turned in front of the fire engine.
The driver of the pickup truck did not possess a valid driver’s license and had marijuana in his system.
Investigators did not specify which driver was at fault and did not recommend criminal charges.
A spokesperson for the city told ABC15 that the fire engine driver and the acting officer are still working in non-operational roles pending and internal department investigation.
The firefighters’ union issued a statement about claims of culpability on Facebook.
