FD: Fire captain hurt in 11-car wreck didn’t wear seatbelt
Reported by:
ABC15.com staff
Last Update: 10/12/2009 11:17 pm
|
PHOENIX – A Phoenix Fire Department captain who was critically injured in an 11-vehicle crash along Interstate 17 in August was not wearing a seatbelt, according to officials on Monday.
Authorities say 10 people and a fire crew were injured in the wreck involving a fire engine on August 10th.
Crystal Rezzonico, 49, and a second woman, 23, were transported to a Valley hospital in critical condition.
Nine other people were also hurt in the crash, however, their injuries were considered minor.
Fire department spokesman Dorian Jackson said the fire truck was headed to a call using its lights and siren on Dunlap Avenue around 6 p.m.
Michelle Miller with the Phoenix Fire Department said the fire engine was responding to a house fire at 5:59 p.m. and was traveling eastbound on Dunlap Avenue, through the intersection at I-17.
At approximately 6:04 p.m., a sedan traveling northbound reportedly struck the fire engine, hitting the apparatus near the fire captain's door.
The truck was propelled to the left by the force of the collision and ended up over the median into the westbound lanes of Dunlap Avenue, according to Phoenix fire officials.
A total of 11 vehicles were involved in the original and secondary collisions, said Miller.
SEE SCENE PHOTOS IN THE ATTACHED SLIDESHOW
James Munn was in one of those cars.
"It's pretty scary seeing a fully loaded fire truck coming at you when he's not supposed to and there's nothing you can do because you're all parked in amongst a bunch of cars," said Munn.
The fire truck came to rest against a locksmith's van. The driver, who did not want to give his name, said the fire truck hit his work van so hard it pushed it and turned it around.
"I saw the car coming, I saw it hit, I braced myself and boom! I opened my eyes back up and I was sideways," he said.
"You're looking at 18 tons of fire truck when it's fully loaded with water," Detective James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department said. "So you still have to think of the impact that would cause that truck to veer off its path like that and strike those vehicles so I'm thinking there was an incredible amount of speed at the initial impact."
Miller said 10 civilians were treated.
Capt. Rezzonico was transported to a local hospital where she underwent surgery for a serious head injury.
The driver of the sedan, a 23-year-old woman, was also taken to a local hospital where she, too, underwent surgery for serious injuries. The rest of the crew were treated, either at the scene or at the hospital, and released.
The incident is under investigation by the Phoenix Police Department and Jackson confirmed Monday that Rezzonico was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Officials reportedly said they felt it was important to release the findings to the department in order to reduce speculation.
The Phoenix Fire Department said Rezzonico began her career with the department as a recruit on March 4, 1991. She was hired as a Phoenix Fire Department firefighter on June 24, 1991. She was promoted as a Captain on August 14, 2006.
|
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
