Four firefighters recovering after driver hits their truck on I-95 in Richmond
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Four Richmond firefighters are recovering after officials say their truck was hit by a tow truck driver who failed to move over on Interstate 95 late Tuesday night.
Virginia has a "Move Over" law that requires drivers to, whenever possible, move over for a vehicle that's stopped on the side of the roadway and has flashing lights on -- whether that be a disabled driver or a first responder. If they cannot safely move over, they must slow down.
"All it takes is a distracted driver to not be paying attention -- then, the next thing you know, something tragic happens," said Capt. Joe Harvey with Chesterfield County Fire and EMS.
The night of Tuesday, July 1, Richmond fire crews were called to the scene of a single-vehicle crash on I-95 South near Chamberlayne Avenue.
8News spoke to Raymond Nevil, safety officer and battalion chief with the Richmond Fire Department. He explained that one of the responding trucks had positioned itself across the lane where the crash was, creating a barrier around the scene so first responders could do their work.
Shortly after 10:30 p.m., an unidentified driver hit the fire truck. Their vehicle was towing another truck, which reportedly also hit a sedan, according to Virginia State Police (VSP).
State police initially reported that two firefighters were hurt in this crash. However, Nevil told 8News that four firefighters, who were all inside the truck, were injured.
July 1 crash on I-95 involving a Richmond Fire truck. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Group)
July 1 crash on I-95 involving a Richmond Fire truck. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Group)
July 1 crash on I-95 involving a Richmond Fire truck. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Group)
"We're used to providing care to the public or our friends, family -- anyone who comes through the city of Richmond or lives in the city of Richmond," Nevil said. "The difference in this situation is we thought we had protected ourselves by providing that barrier."
All four firefighters needed to be hospitalized for treatment of their injuries. Two of the firefighters were more seriously injured, but thankfully, none of their injuries were considered life-threatening.
But that isn't always the case.
"We have lost firefighters in the region in the past [to] being struck by vehicles," Nevil said.
One such case involved Hanover Division of Fire's Lt. Brad Clark, who was tragically killed when a driver failed to move over on I-295 during Tropical Storm Michael in 2018. The crash caused his fire truck to roll forward, crushing Clark.
It's Clark's death that moved Virginia legislators to pass a law allowing authorities the option ot charge drivers who fail to move over with reckless driving -- an option that was utilized in Tuesday's incident, per state police.
July 1 crash on I-95 involving a Richmond Fire truck. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Group)
July 1 crash on I-95 involving a Richmond Fire truck. (Photo: Commonwealth Media Group)
Nevil urges Virginia drivers to take caution when driving past emergency scenes to avoid such incidents.
"This is the one time that you're coming into our workspace, while we're trying to take care of someone you might know or love," Nevil said. "Just slow down a little bit, get past us, and then go on your journey."
Nevil said that, while all of the firefighters have been released from the hospital as of Wednesday, July 2, some of them will be out of work for at least a few days. He expects the firefighters will carry not just the physical wounds from this incident, but the mental ones, for some time.
"When that trust [in the public] is broken, it's surprising to us," Nevil said. "The mental part of this is going to be harder for our firefighters than the physical damage that was done."
Nevil added that the involved fire truck will not be able to return to service.
