ANN ARBOR (WWJ) - A top fire official in Washtenaw County is recovering after a semi truck plowed into his emergency vehicle early Thursday morning as he directed traffic around a different crash on I-94.
Scio Fire Chief Andrew Houde said the department's SUV lost a side mirror and sustained heavy damage to its left side in the crash, but Assistant Chief Doug Armstrong only walked away with soreness.
“I think the freeway is a terrible place to be for anybody in emergency services,” Houde said. “This occurs pretty frequently with emergency vehicles, unfortunately.”
According to Houde, fire officials were dispatched to the scene of an overturned semi truck on I-94 near the Jackson Road exit in the early morning hours on Dec. 15.
Armstrong was assisting other Scio firefighters with shutting down the freeway and had his vehicle stopped on the freeway with the emergency lights activated when another semi truck hit him around 4:45 a.m.
“It was basically a side swipe, which kind of caught the side of his car and drug him down the road a little bit,” Houde added. “Bottom line, he’s off for a couple of days. He was sore, no broken bones or anything like that.”
The asst. fire chief was taken to Chelsea Hospital after the crash for evaluation, Houde said. Armstrong is expected to be back at work on Monday.
The Scio fire vehicle is out of commission until further notice.
Michigan State Police said the driver of the semi who struck the assistance fire chief was issued a citation.