County, fire district sued in August firetruck-sedan collision

A 67-year-old Seabrook man has filed suit against the Burton Fire District and Beaufort County after his vehicle collided with a firetruck on Aug. 3 at the intersection of Trask Parkway and Bruce K. Smalls Drive in Burton.

Rufus Williams sustained non-life threatning injuries as a result of the crash and was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, according to a Burton Fire District news release about the incident.

The firetruck was turning left from Bruce K. Smalls Road to travel south on Trask Parkway with its lights and sirens activated while the sedan was traveling north on Trask Parkway, Lance Cpl. Matt Southern of South Carolina Highway Patrol said the day after the crash.

Though state law allows emergency vehicles to proceed through red lights, they still have “the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons,” Southern said, quoting the law (SC 56-5-760).

Williams declined to comment Wednesday afternoon, through his attorney Jonathan Krell.

The suit, received by the Beaufort County Clerk of Court’s office on Aug. 22, alleges the acts which led to the incident were “negligent, careless, reckless, willful and and grossly negligent,” including improper training, failing to properly observe the road and failing to comply with internal rules, procedures or regulations.

The suit was served to the county on Sept. 22 and the county does not yet have a defense attorney to handle the suit, Tom Keaveny, attorney for Beaufort County said Wednesday afternoon.

Keaveny said he expects the suit to be dismissed against the county since Burton Fire District is not under the direct authority of Beaufort County. The county has 30 days to respond to the suit, he said.

Burton Fire District officials commented through an official statement Wednesday afternoon: “The Burton Fire District is in receipt of this lawsuit and have referred it to our insurance company who has retained legal representation. We feel that it is not in the best interest of either party to comment further on this matter so early in the process. We thank the public for their concerns and we assure our citizens services will not be impacted.”

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 3:24 PM with the headline "County, fire district sued in August firetruck-sedan collision."