Unsafe speed contributed to Fort Worth fire engine rollover crash that injured 4: police
Unsafe speed was the factor that contributed to the February crash of a Fort Worth fire engine that rolled as it turned from one street to another and in which two members of its crew were critically injured, police have concluded.
No other factors or conditions were found to be contributors to the cause of the crash, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. The engine was responding to a house fire when it began to turn east from Village Creek Road to Wilbarger Street in southeast Fort Worth. As it negotiated the turn, the engine rolled and stopped against a tree. The engine was the only vehicle involved.
The fire department on Monday said it had received the police department’s report on the crash and was conducting an internal investigation.
“As Fire Chief it is my responsibility to assure the men and women of our organization have the opportunity to go home safe at the end of their shift and that did not happen on February 6th,” Chief Jim Davis wrote in a statement. “The Fort Worth Fire Department now has the responsibility to complete their review and investigation with an open and transparent approach. We will examine our existing policies and practices to determine if they were adequate or if additional training, policy change, and/or accountability needs to be addressed. We take these responsibilities seriously.”
The fire department said it accepted the investigation’s findings and thanked the police department.
Engine 3 crashed about 2:30 a.m. as the crew was on its way to the fire in the 4500 block of Pecos Street.
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Engineer Matthew Schneider, a 22-year fire department veteran, was driving. He is 42.
Schneider suffered minor injures, as did 33-year-old Firefighter Devin Kuhn, who has been employed by the department for about five years. He was in a back seat.
Critically injured were 46-year-old Capt. Daniel Terrell, an 18-year veteran who was under intensive care with life-threatening injuries after the crash, and 42-year-old Firefighter Clint Robinson, an 18-year veteran.
Terrell, the officer of the engine, was in the front passenger seat. Robinson was in a back seat.
They remain off work and continue to undergo treatment, according to the fire department.
