Update:  3 January 2008 – 9 p.m.

Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, Kristen Timko told The Bay Net, “The tow truck that was immediately in front of the fire truck slowed and pulled over as best it could, but there is no shoulder on that road,” making it difficult for the tow truck to get completely out of the way. 

A CCSO press release this afternoon confirmed that the fire truck was opperating its emergency lights and siren.  None of the four firefighters in the truck received life-threatening injuries.  

The driver, Scott Alan Sefton, 43, of Waldorf, and two of the passengers, Benjamin Earl Jenkins, 23 of Baltimore and Michael James Fischer, 36, of Mechanicsville, were transported by ambulance to Civista Medical Center, where they were treated and released.  

A fourth firefighter, Justin M. Zdobysz, 23, of Waldorf, was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to Prince George’s General Hospital, where he was also treated and released.

The Sheriff’s Office identified the driver of the vehicle who failed to yield the right-of-way, and the crash is under investigation by Officer R. E. Glover, Jr., of the Traffic Operations Unit.

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Original Article: 3 January 2008 – 2 p.m.

Late this morning, a Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department Station 3 truck with four Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) onboard was enroute to a priority one emergency; a child at their destination wasn’t breathing.  They never arrived.  The truck crashed on Old Washington Road, sending all four EMTs to the hospital.

According to Major Joe Montminy at the scene, while traveling southbound approaching Billingsly Road, the fire truck tried to pass a slow moving vehicle who could not move completely to the side of Old Washington Road.  In front of that vehicle, a second vehicle also remained on the road. 

Montminy, of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, said that as the fire truck in the left lane passed the vehicle who attempted to pull over, the 2nd vehicle made a left turn directly into the path of the truck. 

The VFD driver successfully maneuvered the fire truck to avoid crashing into both vehicles.  However, sources at the scene said the weight and inertia of the truck caused it to spin 360 degrees and roll over before crashing into electrical poles on the west side of the road. 

According to VFD Chief Dan Stevens, during the spin one of the four EMTs was thrown from the back of the truck.  He was med-evac’d to Prince Georges Hospital Trauma Center with a potentially severe head injury.  Stevens said the other three volunteers were taken to Civista for their injuries, none of which were life-threatening.

The Bay Net later received word that the driver suffered a separated shoulder injury during the crash.  The other two EMTs sustained numerous lacerations and bruises.  All three men were treated at Civista and would most probably be released today.