ST. GEORGE, Utah — A St. George firefighter was hospitalized after the ceremonial 1940s fire engine he was driving lost its brakes Wednesday and was hit by a sports utility vehicle.
In the Wednesday morning crash at the corner of Deserts Edge Drive and Desert Canyons Parkway — about a half mile from the Utah-Arizona border — a 76-year-old fire engine lost its brakes and collided with an SUV. The St. George firefighter driving the ceremonial vehicle has been in the hospital since, receiving minor back surgery and also a ticket for running the stop sign.
The Washington County Sheriff deputy handling the investigation and St. George’s fire chief told Fox 13 the 1948 Ahrens Fox fire pumper is a display piece that was on hand Tuesday for the grand opening of the department’s new 13,000-square-foot state-of-the-art station and training facility in the Desert Canyons area about a mile and a half from St. George Airport.
According to the deputy, the firefighter was going down this downhill portion of Desert Edge Drive toward the Desert Canyons thoroughfare when the brakes failed. The engine went through the stop sign and a Ford SUV traveling on the parkway hit right into the driver’s side of the 1948 fire pumper.
While the driver of the SUV, its only passenger, was unhurt, firefighter Brandon Redd was transported to St. George Regional Hospital. He received a procedure Thursday that put a special cement into his vertebrae and was expected to go home Thursday night.
Redd also got a ticket for running the stop sign.
He also said that even if a driver loses their brakes and loses control, they still are held responsible for a crash if they go past a stop sign or light. He added that the crash was still under investigation.
St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker says the historic fire engine is history — a total loss.
Anyone who would like to help fund Redd's medical expenses can visit their fundraiser here.
