JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman suffered critical injuries when her car was struck by a Jacksonville Fire and Rescue ladder truck Friday afternoon on the Northside, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police said around 4:30 p.m., the fire engine, which had its lights and sirens on, drove through an intersection at Main Street and Tallulah Avenue en route to a call and struck the car, which was pulling out of a side street. Officials said the car drove westbound from a private road just south of Tallulah Avenue into the fire engine's path.
Neftile Lopez witnessed the crash and saw first responders rescue the woman from the mangled car.
"You don't see this everyday," Lopez said. "Especially with the fire department, but when you hear the siren of the fire department you have to stop. So I hear the siren, the brake and the impact of the car."
News4Jax talked to a neighbor who said she lived close by.
"Saw the black car, I knew it was her," said Alycia Conrad. "She came to work everyday. Got up, went to work, came home. It was just in and out for her. It's just sad you know, it happens a lot more than you realize. And it's shocking when it's somebody you know."
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue released a statement Friday evening:
"Our thoughts and prayers extended to the family involved in the accident and resolve to fully cooperate in every fashion with the investigative process launched by JSO."
People in the area told News4Jax it's a dangerous intersection and said they're not surprised a crash happened.
"It just makes me worry because coming out of here is crazy enough already, hard to get in, hard to get out. My father in law he's 65-years old, I'm terrified this is going to happen to him," said Conrad.
On Saturday, a firetruck from Fire Station 9 headed out on a call with lights and sirens on.
Some people have their thoughts about the intersection near where the accident happened.
The light to turn out of where the woman had her accident changes too quickly, according to neighbors. People say there is not enough time for cars to get out safely.
"Once one car gets there, you have about enough time for one car to pass and turn," said Ronnie Hayes, who lives near the crash site.
Ronnie Hayes said he has seen the woman who suffered injuries in the accident in the area, but he says he does not know her that well. Still, he is hopeful crashes like the one on Friday do not happen again.
"I just sit here. She passes and I have seen her as I sit here drinking my coffee," said Hayes. "It's very unfortunate. It's very sad. There a lot of elderly people over there. The lady might have been very nervous. You're going to be nervous when something comes at you really fast and loud."
But it's uncertain if the layout of this intersection had anything to do with the crash. News4Jax Crime and Safety Analyst Gil Smith said police will look at visibility in their investigation.
"They will look at that," Smith said. "They will look at where the vehicle came from, the direction of travel and see if those were contributing factors to the accident."
Smith said investigators will also likely look at whether the female driver had any sort of hearing or vision issues that could have led to this as they try to determine who was at fault. He said the typical rule when firetrucks are in emergency mode is to keep their lights and sirens on and slow down when they enter.
"Intersections are the trickiest part of when you're in emergency mode because you have to cross traffic and you have people starting and stopping at the light. But emergency vehicles will slow down as they approach the intersection. Even though they have the right of way they will slow down because they have cross traffic," Smith said.
The woman, who had to be extracted from the vehicle, was taken to UF Health and was in critical condition, police said. Her name and the name of the fire truck driver have not yet been released.