A Baltimore City firetruck, which was involved in a fatal weekend crash, failed to stop at a red light, police investigators have determined.
A preliminary probe of the early Sunday morning accident at Park Heights Avenue and Clarks Lane that killed three occupants of a sport utility vehicle has determined the driver of the firetruck did not heed the traffic signal, as required by law.
“We do know Truck 27 had a red light, and that it did not stop,” said police spokesman Sterling Clifford.
Investigators say the firetruck was traveling 47 mph when it struck the SUV, which Sterling said was moving at 23 mph. Truck 27 was following two other emergency vehicles that had passed through the intersection.
“[Truck 27] was eight seconds behind an ambulance,” Clifford said.
According to toxicology tests, all three occupants of the SUV ? driver Iryna Petrov, 49, Mikhail Petrov, 35 and Igor Saub, 24 ? had been drinking, but “[Iryna Petrov?s] blood-alcohol level was .06, not over the limit, but it does suggest some level of impairment,” Clifford said. In Maryland, a blood-alcohol level of .08 is considered driving under the influence.
Nathaniel Moore, 40, who joined the fire department three years ago, was driving Truck 27, which carried Lt. Thomas Moore (no relation to the driver), Kenneth Jacobs and Darryl Alexander.
Some fire department officials said Thursday the relative inexperience of Moore, who was only on his third call, may have factored into the crash.
“The only thing we?re thinking now is that the driver [Moore] saw the medic unit go through the intersection and thought that if anybody was coming they would see the other vehicles and stop,” said Bob Sledgeski, a firefighters union representative.
Clifford said investigators had not reached any conclusions.
