Preston Volunteer firefighters David J. Bennett, 26, and John W. Sanchez, 18, were air-lifted by Cox Air Care to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, with serious injuries Saturday, March 8, after an accident occurring on Rt. D, two miles south of Preston.
According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the accident occurred around 4:10 p.m. when the 1994 Pierce Saber Fire Truck driven by Bennett traveled off the right side of the road to avoid an oncoming vehicle. Bennett overcorrected causing the fire truck to skid back onto the road, cross the center line twice, and run off the right side of the road. The truck rotated counter-clockwise, and struck a culvert. The vehicle overturned, ejecting Bennett through the windshield. The fire truck came to rest on its passenger side off the road.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol was assisted by the Hickory County Sheriff’s Department, Preston Fire Department, and Central Hickory County Fire Department. The fire truck was a total loss and was towed from the scene by Mike’s Wrecker of Collins according to Highway Patrol reports.
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