Lafayette Firefighter Jumps Over Ledge to Avoid Being Hit By 18-Wheeler

A bizarre incident began to unfold on I-10 last night that ended with a firefighter leaping over a guardrail to avoid being hit by an 18-wheeler.

Lafayette Police Department Sergeant Robin Green says that a Lafayette Fire Department truck was already on the scene of a crash just after 9:30 last night assisting with a crash that had already happened when the unthinkable started to take place. An 18-wheeler ended up crashing into the fire truck on I-10 westbound.

Green says personnel from the Lafayette Fire Department were on scene, and one firefighter saw the collision coming and jumped out of the way, some twenty feet over the overpass. He was injured, and he is in a local hospital receiving treatment for severe injuries.

Crash investigators with Lafayette's Traffic Division continue to look into the matter. Green says basically that the firefighter was "forced over the ledge" to prevent being hit by the 18-wheeler.

Green says the driver was also taken to a hospital.