x
Breaking News
More () »

Video of fire truck spinning on ice in Missouri goes viral

The department said there were no injuries reported in the original crash or the crash involving the fire truck.

IMPERIAL, Mo. — A fire truck, similar to several other vehicles, could not handle the icy roads near Imperial, Missouri, Monday morning.

Video of the incident shared with 5 On Your Side by Katelynn Voisey showed the fire truck spinning, sliding sideways into a crashed car before coming to a complete stop near a home at the bottom of the hill in the 1700 block of Parkside Place.

The Rock Community Fire Protection District was originally called out for the crash that Voisey said woke her up.

"At 7, we woke up to a loud crash. The blue Chevy Cruze crashed into my car and then was lodged on top of the fire hydrant and electrical box. We advised her to get out of her vehicle and come over to safety on the porch," Voisey said.

After making it back to their porch, they called 911 and while they were waiting, a pickup truck also slid down the hill immediately followed by the Rock Community fire truck, which met the same fate as the car they were called to help.

"We were immediately running over to check on them. If it wasn't for the blue car already being lodged in front of the tree and on the fire hydrant, I do think that the fire truck would have flipped once it hit the tree. In all honesty, it kind of turned out OK. He was a great driver," Voisey added. 

The department said there were no injuries reported in the original crash or the crash involving the fire truck.

"No structures were damaged during this accident, and both the fire truck involved and the original car involved sustained minor damage," a department spokesperson said. 

Rock Community Fire Chief Kevin Wingbermuehle said his drivers have more than 240 hours of training and it paid off.

"Although it happened quickly, they did have a few seconds. They're trained to stay calm and think on their feet," Wingbermuehle added. "He made some adjustments to the truck. He had an exit plan or a plan B to avoid further damage."

Wingbermuehle said the truck had tire chains in place to try and prevent as much sliding as possible, but no one was going to be invincible in this situation.

"If this stuff can happen to us in a 50,000-plus pound truck, it can happen to anybody. People really need to remind themselves of that when they get out in these hazardous conditions that in a split second a lot of things can change," Wingbermuehle said.

Wingbermuehle encouraged the public to share the video "as it provides a pivotal opportunity to highlight the daily challenges and hazards faced by firefighters," a release said in part. 

Read the full release below: 

Please see the attached statements regarding this morning's incident involving our apparatus.

Posted by Rock Community Fire Protection District on Monday, January 22, 2024

The fire truck in Imperial was not the only truck to crash Monday.

A salt truck in the City of St. Louis lost control early Monday morning, nearly crashing into a local supermarket. This crash happened around 5:30 a.m. near New Halls Ferry Road and North Broadway.

The truck was not salting the roads at the time of the crash.

Kent Flake, the St. Louis Commissioner of Streets told 5 On Your Side the driver was coming down a hill, lost control on the ice and spun into some posts right outside of the Elite Supermarket & Grill on North Broadway.

Flake said thankfully, the posts were up to prevent the driver from crashing into the building but that it was an extremely close call.

The driver was taken to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. No other injuries were reported.

Before You Leave, Check This Out