Monday, March 9, 2015

CYCLIST CRITICAL AFTER COLLISION WITH SAN FRANCISCO FIRE ENGINE 1





SUNDAY, MARCH 8, 2015  

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
A bicyclist was listed in critical condition Saturday after an early morning collision with a fire truck in San Francisco’s Tenderloin.  Engine 1 was returning to its South of Market Fire Station after clearing a call at 2:12 a.m. Saturday when it collided with a male cyclist, whose name has not been released, at the intersection of Turk and Mason streets, said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.
The cyclist was riding west on Turk Street, the chief said.  Because the engine, which is based at Fire Station No. 1 at Folsom and Fifth streets, was returning from a call, it was not running with flashing lights and sirens.

The bicyclist, who is believed to be in his mid-30s, was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with “pretty serious head injuries,” Hayes-White said Saturday night. No one on the fire engine was injured.

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating the crash, and the Fire Department is cooperating fully, the chief said. The driver of the fire engine underwent routine testing for alcohol and drugs, both of which were negative.

“However you look at it, it’s tragic,” Hayes-White said. “Our thoughts are with the injured bicyclist and his family, as well as with the members that were on Engine 1.”