Firefighter killed after struck by fellow volunteer police say was responding drunk
Looking for a quality used fire truck? Selling one? Visit our sponsor Command Fire Apparatus
Also from STATter911 – Firefighter grabbed by crotch files $1.2 million federal lawsuit
State police say a volunteer firefighter was killed at a southwestern Indiana crash scene when he was hit by a pickup truck driven by an intoxicated firefighter.
Police say 27-year-old Kendall Murphy of Montgomery was among three volunteer firefighters who had arrived Friday night in their personal vehicles to help after a crash in rural Daviess County. That’s when the truck driven 26-year-old Colby Blake of Cannelburg crashed into the parked vehicles and struck Murphy.
State police Sgt. Philip Hensley says Murphy died at the scene. Hensley says Blake was arrested with a blood-alcohol level of 0.21 percent — more than double the state’s legal limit.
Authorities say as Blake approached the scene, he hit the back of another Dodge Ram truck that was parked along the south side of the road.
Blake’s truck continued to travel east, before it hit a 2013 Ford Fusion, driven by 27-year-old Kendall Murphy of Montgomery, according to police. Investigators say Murphy was one of the responding firefighters and was standing outside his vehicle, when he was hit by Blake’s truck.
Officials say Blake crashed into a 2007 Ford F350, which belonged to another firefighter, before coming to a stop.
Murphy suffered numerous injuries after being struck. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Daviess County Coroner Dr. Stephen Cullen.
Blake was uninjured in the crash; however, after further investigation, was found to be operating while intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.21%.
Blake has been preliminarily charged with Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated Causing Death and Reckless Driving. He is being held in the Daviess County Security Center, with formal charges to be filed by the Daviess County Prosecutor’s Office.
