SAFETY HARBOR, Fla.— Newly released dash camera video shows the moment two firefighters were struck and injured by a driver who crashed into a Safety Harbor fire station late last year.
The crash happened around 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 6. According to officials, Safety Harbor Fire Captain Joseph Hans and Firefighter/Paramedic Ryan Craig were washing the station’s vehicles in the front driveway at 3905 McMullen Booth Road when they were hit by an SUV.
Just moments earlier, a Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy had been trying to help the SUV driver after her vehicle became disabled a little farther down McMullen Booth Road.
The dash camera video provided by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office begins less than 10 minutes before the crash. The deputy can be seen pulling behind the woman’s SUV, which was stopped in the middle of the roadway with flashing hazard lights.
He then gets out of his patrol car and speaks with the woman for a few minutes. According to the sheriff’s office, the driver told him that her transmission was disabled, and she was unable to put her car in neutral.
After returning to his vehicle, the deputy then begins to push the SUV using his patrol car’s bumper. This continues for about two minutes, but the two cars eventually separate around the time that authorities said the woman missed her turn — the entrance of a nearby golf course.
About thirty seconds later, the woman can be seen taking a hard right turn and crashing into the fire station. According to the sheriff’s office, the woman said her brakes were not working.
The impact from the SUV threw Hans into the fire station bay and under a vehicle. Craig also suffered injuries, though not as severe.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said no criminal charges were expected to be filed following the crash.
Via WFLA