Firefighter charged after rig strikes Maryland sheriff
A 61-year-old member of the Leonardtown VFD has been charged after St. Mary’s County, Maryland Sheriff Tim Cameron was struck this (Wednesday) morning by the department’s heavy duty rescue truck at an accident scene.
Sheriff Cameron has been treated and released from from Medstar St. Mary’s Hospital.
The publisher of TheChesapeake.com, Ken Rossignol, thinks it is a conflict of interest for a deputy sheriff to investigate an accident scene where the victim is his boss (more here).
Previous coverage of this story
Press release St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office:
On September 23, 2015, at 7:36 a.m., St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a reported motor vehicle collision with injuries on Pin Cushion Road in Leonardtown, MD. Upon arrival, deputies found a Chevrolet S-10 pick-up truck left the roadway and struck a tree. The operator was suffering from a leg injury and was placed on the tailgate of her vehicle to elevate her leg while waiting for emergency medical personnel to arrive. Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron arrived on the scene to assist deputies and was standing to the rear of the truck speaking to the injured operator. A fire truck operated by Kenneth Scully, age 61, of Company 1 Leonardtown, arrived on the scene. Sheriff Cameron was struck by the fire truck and was pinned between the fire truck and tailgate of the wrecked vehicle. As the firetruck continued to move forward, Sheriff Cameron was thrown to the ground. Sheriff Cameron was transported from the scene by ambulance to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and was released.
The facts of the case were reviewed with the Assistant State’s Attorney, Laura Caspar. Based on the facts, the operator of the fire truck has been charged via citations for Negligent Driving, Failure to Control Speed to Avoid a Collision, and Driver Failure to Exercise Due Care to Avoid Pedestrian Collision.
The fire department’s chief could not be reached for comment.
The sheriff suffered no broken bones from the mishap, and the injury to his leg was described by a senior lawman as a hard “rub” from the contact with the firefighting vehicle as the sheriff was helping the injured motorist.
“He is a working sheriff,” Capt. Steven Hall said Wednesday morning outside the hospital’s emergency room. “He was out there, doing his thing.”
