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Tanker Rollover Ejects Driver
TARKINGTON PRAIRIE, Texas – A volunteer firefighter was injured in Liberty County Monday when he was ejected from a fire truck.
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Firefighter-injured-when-fire-truck-...
http://www.khou.com/news/local/Firefighter-injured-when-fire-truck-...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on
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http://www.khou.com/video/featured-videos/Firefighter-injured-when-...
This comment was posted: Cypress Lakes VFD was responding to assist Tarkington VFD with a barn fire on CR2291. The 22-year old driver was ejected and is currently in critical condition.
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Speeding, inexperience, no seatbelts (most likely), young...what else can be added to this list?
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Permalink Reply by Roy Walker on
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One lucky brother not wearing a seat belt and surviving.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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Oldman, your posted link comes up blank... nada. Jack's link provides a video feed from an overhead news helicopter sans any sound, documenting this incident, giving some insight toward speculation.
Already knowing that you've done some wrenching in your life, I would guess that you could confirm that this was an older tender/tanker, probably military surplus? I'm thinking that things like jake brakes and other features found on more 'modern' trucks were absent. Couple this with inexperience and no awareness that water moving inside a tank, baffled or not, can create an unsafe situation that often times results in overturned vehicles or accidents.
Water tender / tankers (in my opinion) have NO business driving excessive speeds nor driving Code 3. The weight alone is contradictory. It's like trying to stop a freight train. You can do it, but it takes a long time...
The story is inconclusive regarding causation. Mechanical failure? Was the guy driving Code 3 to a call? Was he properly trained by the department? If not, how did he get access to the vehicle? Was he doing drivers training at the time? So many unanswered questions...
One thing does remain constant, thou shalt ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT!
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Not one "Oh, Shit...!!! But two....#1....Driving too fast........#2...No seat belts. When are we going to stop killing ourselves....??!!
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I guess real life driving is a bit different from Grand Theft Auto, although I guess you can still run people over in real life.
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Permalink Reply by Norm Tindell on
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How can it be that another young man thought he was invincible, immortal..."It can't happen to me." Let's hope he recovers to tell his story to others. We'll talk about it in training.
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Permalink Reply by Oldman on
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Sorry about the link CB,
It does appears that this was an apparatus converted from another bulk liquid carrier, and not originally designed as a fire tanker. As far as the modern features like an engine brake, or traction control, I would be inclined to think these weren't on this truck. But, seat belts were probably available, and obviously unused.
The tanker was responding to mutual aid on a barn fire so it was probably being operated with lights and siren. The preliminary investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety indicates the driver lost control after exiting a curve in the road and over corrected before the truck left the road and rolled over. There is an unsubstantiated rumor that another vehicle may have crowded the center line of the curve and might have contributed to the crash. I agree that inexperience would probably be a contributing factor in this incident. As far as training, I'm not sure how this department trains their operators.
The last I hear about the driver; He was flown to Herman Memorial (Level I Trauma Center) and has a fractured vertebrae, a broken leg, and multiple facial fractures. However, the word is he was conscious and alert plus has feeling and mobility in his extremities.
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Permalink Reply by GARY HANSON on
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At our Central Station we have a "Wall" with LODD from years past. Not too many were casualties of the actual fire event but medical and health related. Two are casualties from truck accidents. One is heartbreaking. Every time I stand in front of this photo of a young man who was involved in much the same type of accident we are discussing here it just tears me up. His fate was to be killed when he was driving to a grass fire in a 1500 gallon tanker. Narrow country road, many sharp curves and narrow shoulders. He barely got one tire off the pavement in a curve and a made an abrupt action on the steering wheel that caused a roll-over. His fatal mistake wasn't the error in his driving but his failure to put his seat belt on before leaving the station. The cab and much of the tender/tanker survived the crash but my friend was ejected and was crushed by the truck rolling over him.
I do not enjoy the "generalities" posted here about "young" "invincible" "driving too fast" "inexperienced" etc etc. The one post I do agree with, at least in in my friends case "AVOIDABLE FATALITY". People you are useless to the incident if you fail to arrive safely. There have been many, no "TOO MANY" crashes, with very experienced drivers/firefighters to "blanket indict" a single accident with generalities.
Lets all be safe and encourage our young guys to do the same.. .
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Permalink Reply by CHIEF NORMAN on
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Inexperience or not, what is done is done and it could happen to any of us...The moral of the story is wear your Blankety Blank seat belts (No excuses No exceptions...This is a wake up call for departments all across this nation...
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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on
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I hope he lives to tell the story! God bless you brother!!!!
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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Regardless if he was driving safely and the speed limit, he was still ejected during the motor vehicle accident. "Avoidable" is an understatement in the fact, that to stay within a vehicle designed to protect the occupants you must first be seated and belted inside. I am sad in part for the injury and the pain he and his family will suffer, but it was his decision to not buckle up.
This is happening so much it is almost like saying, Well I don't feel sorry for another DWI driver when they crash and kill themselves.... why, it was their dumb decision.
Hopefully he recovers to preach the need for seat belts, and the lessons learned.
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