BEDFORD, Va. – A Moneta Volunteer Fire Department firetruck narrowly avoided smashing into a pickup truck while en route to a call.
The firetruck was eastbound in about the 1900 block of Chestnut Fork Road, with its lights and siren activated, when the approaching pickup truck failed to yield to it.
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The driver of the fire engine was forced to take evasive action to avoid striking the oncoming red Ford F-150 and ran off the right side of the road where there was about an 8-foot drop to a creek.
The firetruck stopped on the top edge of the embankment with its right-side tires over the edge.
The F-150 stopped briefly but then continued on.
There was no contact between the two vehicles.
The firetruck was equipped with a video camera that recorded the entire event.
They were heading to a crash near the intersection of Headens Bridge and Rock Cliff roads, where a pickup truck of a similar description had run someone off the road.
The Virginia State Police are investigating both incidents.
"My driver did exactly as trained and as I would expect," Moneta VFD Chief Jeremiah Calhoun said. "He took evasive action to avoid striking the other vehicle."
Calhoun said the firetruck driver and one firefighter were transported to Bedford Memorial Hospital as a precaution.
They were released later that afternoon.
The chief added that he had reviewed the video and speed was not a factor on the part of the firetruck.
The extent of damage to the fire truck is undetermined at this time, pending an inspection of the frame.