A pickup burst into flames after crashing into a Habersham County fire truck Friday morning. The fire was quickly brought under control, and no injuries were reported, officials say.
The wreck occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Camp Creek Road. According to the state patrol, the fire truck was traveling southbound. A northbound Ford F-150 hit the fire truck as it turned into Station 14 at 6400 Camp Creek Road.
“I T-boned the side of the fire truck, and it blew up the gas tank, and my truck caught on fire as well as the fire truck,” the pickup truck driver George Hames of Clarkesville tells Now Habersham.
The 21-year-old Hames says he jumped out of the truck immediately. He blames the crash on the fire truck operator.
“He didn’t have a blinker on or anything, and he just whipped right in front of me,” says Hames.
Now Habersham reached out to the county for comment on Hames’ claims but did not immediately hear back from them.
Troopers from Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the wreck. According to their preliminary investigation report, they did not charge either driver.
EMTs on scene gave Hames a medical evaluation and cleared him. The state patrol says the fire truck driver, 44-year-old David Thompson of Mt. Airy, was also uninjured.
The wreck damaged both vehicles, and they had to be towed from the scene.
“A spare engine is being placed in service at Station 14, so there will be no lapse in emergency response,” says Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore.
The wreck shut down Camp Creek Road between Cody and Hulsey roads for an hour while troopers investigated the crash and crews cleared the scene.
