Statutory immunity upheld in tragic fatal accident where fire truck struck and killed toddler at an intersection while responding to an emergency call.

In a highly-publicized and tragic accident, a fire truck responding to an emergency call was approaching an intersection and chose to make an otherwise illegal and dangerous U-turn by moving its vehicle to the right, then swinging the truck around for the wide turn. A civilian driver, allegedly following too closely behind the truck and believing the truck was moving to the right, attempted to move around the truck to the left and was struck when the truck began its left turn, pushing the civilian driver into a family standing on the median of the intersection. The collision injured multiple family members and, unfortunately, a two-year-old girl was killed. The court determined that, despite the large event the family was attempting to attend while waiting on the median, the intersection was not inherently dangerous. The court dismissed the claim that the failure to provide police presence was the proximate cause of the accident. The proximate cause was the illegal and dangerous turn by the fire truck; however, since the proximate cause of the accident was determined to be the fire truck driver’s negligence, the statutory immunity protection afforded to first responders precluded liability.

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