Move Over: Fire truck, ambulance hit at two I-95 crash scenes

A fire truck blocking a lane to protect a crash scene took heavy damage Thursday night when a car tried to go around the truck, the second time an emergency vehicle was damaged on Interstate 95 this week.

Hampton Fire/Rescue in a statement said members were responding to the scene in the northbound lanes around 11 p.m. a mile from the toll plaza with two fire trucks and an ambulance. Moments before a firefighter was trying to exit the truck from the drivers side he heard an approaching car and quickly closed the door before getting back in, the department said.

Photos show the truck's front tire was flattened and the bumper pulled off.

The firefighter was taken to Exeter Hospital for an evaluation and did not suffer any significant injuries, according to the department.

Wednesday night a North Hampton ambulance with its lights and siren going north of the toll plaza driving across the northbound lanes to reach a crash scene was struck on the drivers side by a vehicle causing heavy front end damage. The ambulance was not able to be driven and was towed from the scene.

The driver of the vehicle was issued a ticket for failure to yield to emergency vehicles.

New Hampshire State Police which are investigating both crashes said that the state's Move Over Law require drivers approaching an emergency scene where lanes are blocked or a location where a police officer has made a traffic stop to:

• Maintain a reduced speed.
• Obey the directions of any authorized person directing traffic and of all applicable emergency signals and traffic control devices.
• Vacate as soon as possible any lane wholly or partially blocked.
• Give a wide berth, without endangering oncoming traffic, to public safety personnel, any persons in the roadway, and stationary vehicles displaying blue, red, or amber emergency or warning lights.