Firehouse.com

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Jan. 13--AMERICUS -- A GMC Suburban collided with a Sumter County fire truck at around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Tripp and Lamar streets, causing no-to-minor injuries to the Suburban driver and no injuries to the firefighters, but resulting in major traffic congestion for about a half an hour.

The passenger's side wheel and headlight of the green Suburban were badly crunched. After the collision, the wheel was turned almost sideways and the headlight was badly smashed by the fire truck.

The fire truck had a dent in its front bumper and a few scratches.

Even though the driver of the Suburban said she wasn't hurt, paramedics took her to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center for precautionary reasons.

Skip Starling, the operating chief for the Sumter County's Fire Department, was on scene, and said that the Freightliner fire truck had its lights and sirens running all the way down Tripp Street, and slowed to get through the intersection of Tripp and Lamar streets. The fire truck driver had used precautionary measures before pulling into the intersection, and when the fire truck driver pulled into the intersection, the Suburban driver just wasn't paying close attention to the road. Everyone else in the intersection had stopped for the truck.

The Suburban, though, caused the accident, Starling said. He pointed to the damage on the fire truck and said, "See how the damage is pushed back on the truck? That proves the fire truck was hit."

The truck was on the way to a brush fire on Fox Worth Drive, which was extinguished by other firefighters who were called.

Starling said the truck is heavy duty and has special capabilities to extinguish fires, and there were more than enough other fire trucks covering the brush fire. The one involved in the wreck would have served as backup on the brush fire.

"It's a specialty truck," Starling said.

Sumter County Board of Commissioners Chairman Brent Williams said that there are 10 other fire trucks the county will be able to use while the truck's bumper is being repaired.

"Since the truck has minor damages, it shouldn't take too long to be repaired, either," Williams said.