Local & State Headlines

Fire truck crashes, injures 1

• An Albany fire crew had full lights and sirens activated when their truck was involved in a crash.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — A woman was taken to an area hospital after pulling into an intersection ahead of an Albany firetruck, officials say.

According to the Albany Police Department, 41-year-old Tammy Wertz was traveling down Van Buren Street when she ran a stop sign into the path of the firetruck driven by 35-year-old Kevin Prince.

After the crash, the crew onboard the truck used Hurst equipment, commonly known as the jaws of life, to cut Wertz free of her vehicle, AFD Chief James Carswell said.

“The crew cut her out, but she was standing and walking around the scene so I don’t think she was too seriously injured in the crash,” Carswell said.

APD Spokesperson Phyllis Banks said Friday afternoon that Wertz will be charged with failure to stop at a stop sign.

Carswell said the truck sustained damage to its front bumper area, but that all of the firefighters on the truck appeared to be OK.

“We’re probably going to send them to a doctor and I’m sure they’ll probably be sore and stiff tomorrow, but there weren’t any serious injuries on their end,” he said.

Carswell said the crew was headed to an emergency call on Maxwell Street and was traveling down Ninth Avenue when the crash occurred. The unit did have full lights and sirens activated when Wertz pulled through the intersection, he said.

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