(YNN) JEFFERSON COUNTY, N.Y. -- A firefighter from Jefferson County is recovering after he was hit at an accident scene.
Rescue crews and sheriff's deputies responded to a call of a two car accident at the intersection of Routes 411 and 37 in the Town of Theresa Friday night. Officials said Lance Willix, 67, was directing traffic when he was hit by a deputy's patrol car when the deputy tried to drive around one of the fire trucks.
He was flown to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse with leg injuries. Willix is listed in fair condition.
Sheriff John Burns said the patrol car was moving at a crawl, and that neither the driver nor the firefighter saw each other due to congestion at the scene.
Both accidents remain under investigation.
Firefighter directing traffic hit by sheriff’s patrol car - YNN, Your News Now
While directing traffic at a motor vehicle accident, a fire police officer was hit by a sheriff deputy's SUV responding to the same crash. Firefighter Lance Willix was air lifted to University Hospital in Syracuse with a broken femur.
“We were involved in traffic control and at that time, one of my fire police on scene was actually struck by a vehicle,” said Theresa Fire Chief Mark Savage.
Mr. Savage said he was only a few feet away from Mr. Willix, 67, Theresa, when he was hit. “I heard the impact,” Mr. Savage said. “I turned around and there he was. All I could do was try to keep him still.”
Mr. Willix was taken by helicopter to Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, where a nursing supervisor said he was listed in fair condition late Friday.
(The
usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses
an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)
