Man seriously injured when his car slams into St. Charles fire truck

David J. Andrzejewski, 42, of O'Fallon, Mo., suffered two broken legs and other serious injuries, fire officials say. He was trapped in his car for about 20 minutes until firefighters could cut the car apart to free him.

Firefighters were delayed in freeing him because the tools they needed to pry his car apart were in the back of the pumper truck that was smashed in. They had to use a saw to get to the hydraulic tools.

The crash happened at about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday on westbound Interstate 70, underneath the First Capitol Drive overpass.

The fire truck and an ambulance from the St. Charles Fire Department had parked there to help an asthma patient. The asthma patient had forgotten his inhaler and was driving home to get it when he pulled over on I-70 and called for help.

Typically, fire trucks park on the shoulder. But at this spot, underneath the overpass, there was a guardrail, so the truck and ambulance ended up parking partly in the right traffic lane. Their emergency lights were flashing as a warning to motorists, said Capt. Dan Casey of the St. Charles Fire Department.

The firefighters had loaded the asthma patient into the ambulance and were caring for him.

"The driver of fire truck said he got out and walked up to the ambulance, he had a bad feeling" and said they should probably hurry and leave, Casey said. "We're very nervous on the highway."

Within about 10 seconds, Casey said, the car driven by Andrzejewski slammed into the back of the pumper truck.

"There were no skid marks," Casey said. "I'm sure he was going full speed, highway speed."

The front part of the car, a Chevrolet Lumina, went underneath the bumper of the fire truck. Andrzejewski was trapped underneath the dash.  Both of his legs were broken, and he suffered other injuries as well. 

Andrzejewski was rushed into surgery at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur, where he underwent surgery, Casey said. Andrzejewski was listed in serious condition late Wednesday morning, a hospital spokeswoman said.

"Whether he fell asleep or what, I don't know," Casey said.

The Missouri Highway Patrol is investigating.

The man who had the asthma attack was treated at the scene and released.

None of the three firefighters on the truck, nor the two rescuers on the ambulance, was hurt. Because of the damage sustained in the crash, the fire truck had to be towed away, Casey said. The department paid nearly $300,000 for the fire truck in 2003. The department will have to use an older reserve truck until the damaged truck is fixed.