LAURINBURG — A city fire truck on its way to a grass fire was knocked on its side after colliding with an SUV Thursday afternoon.
The accident occurred at about 5:29 p.m at the intersection of King Street and US 401, shutting down both sides of US 401, according to the state Highway Patrol.
The firefighter, the sole person in the truck, was unjured.
Scotland County Emergency Management Director Roylin Hammond said the driver of the Ford Explorer and a passenger appeared alert at the scene, but were taken to the hospital. A Life Flight helicopter was called in but it was unclear at presstime if anyone was flown to a hospital.
Authorities have not released the names of the firefighter or the people in the SUV.
The fire truck was traveling on King Street with its lights and sirens activated when the Explorer traveling north failed to yield and hit the truck causing it to flip onto its side, according to Trooper Jeff Edwards with the state Highway Patrol.
No charges have been filed in the accident.
Laurinburg Fire Chief Randy Gibson said the truck, which is owned by the county, but was assigned to the North Laurinburg Station, was responding to a call.
“He was on route to a fire call on Academy Road,” Gibson said. “He pulled up to the intersection and was stopped with his lights and siren and this vehicle came traveling northbound and caught the back of the fire truck in such a way that it tipped over on its side. All other directions had stopped and yielded for him.”
Gibson said it was too early to determine if the $300,000 fire truck is salvageable. He said that it appeared that the truck had suffered some frame damage. The vehicle carries about 750 gallons of water as well as 25 gallons of firefighting foam.
Dozens of volunteer firefighters were at the scene to help clean up and unload the year-old truck’s equipment which will also have to be checked for damage.
Traffic was backed up in both directions on US 401 and rerouted down access roads in front of Scotland High School and Hillside Cemetery.
