GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A suspected drunk driver took out a fire truck on US-131 in Grand Rapids in the early morning hours of election day.
Emergency crews were on scene of a crash on southbound US-131 on Tuesday around 1:30 a.m. when Utility Truck 2 was hit from behind. The driver of the vehicle was arrested for operating while intoxicated.
Utility Truck 2 is a specialized vehicle that tows a trailer with a light arrow on it to help protect firefighters responding to incidents on the highway. The impact completely destroyed the trailer.
Luckily the driver of Utility Truck 2 was not hurt.
"This incident could have ended in tragedy," said Jack Johnson, Deputy Fire Chief of the Grand Rapids Fire Department. "Our attenuator vehicle is a crucial safety device, specifically designed to absorb impacts and protect our personnel and equipment. While we're relieved no one was seriously injured, this serves as a sobering reminder of the risks our fire crews face daily."
The crash would be the first of two crashes involving fire trucks on Tuesday in West Michigan.
Later that evening, a pickup truck of Comstock Fire and Rescue was hit while at a crash scene on Gull Road near Sprinkle Street.
No one was hurt in that crash.
The crashes are reminders of the dangers first responders face when responding to car crashes. Comstock Fire and Rescue's Chief Ed Switalski died on June 14, 2017 after he was hit by a distracted driver.
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