PHOTO - Sometimes, when a tree falls in the woods, someone is there to see it.
In the case of a Richmond volunteer firefighter, he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Fortunately, the 45-year-old Richmond resident, a 13-year veteran of the department, escaped serious injury after a large branch suddenly broke off of a tree along the north side of Division Road at about 7:30 p.m. Monday, forcing the driver of a vehicle in front of the ladder truck to slam on his brakes.
The driver of that vehicle, a large truck hauling a roll-off dumpster, did not have time to avoid what was described by Richmond Police Chief Dave Teske as “half of the tree” and attempted to stop on the roadway.
The ladder truck, a 1981 Sutphen Aerial Platform model, slammed into the back of the truck hauling the dumpster, causing major damage, crushing the cab and trapping the firefighter inside.