NJ Department Reaches $4.5M Deal in Firefighter's Crash

A New Jersey fire department reached a $4.5 million settlement last week with a woman who was seriously injured in a collision with a volunteer firefighter who ran a red light on the way to a call. The Wenonah firefighter also must pay $100,000 as part of the agreement.

In January 2018, Melinda Baker, who was 56 at the time, was driving her Dodge Neon when she was hit on the driver's side by volunteer firefighter Richard J. Campbell Jr., who was driving a Ford Focus with flashing blue lights through a red light, the Courier-Post reports. Baker suffered more than 14 fractures in the crash, and her attorneys said she now needs to use a wheelchair and a chair lift in her house.

In his ruling Friday, Superior Court Judge Samuel Ragonese stated that even though Campbell was responding to a fire when he ran the red light, "there is no protection (from) the duty imposed on all drivers to exercise due care," according to the Courier-Post. 

The settlement will be paid out by insurers on behalf of the department and Campbell. The lawyer for the department and Campbell could not be reached for comment, the Courier-Post added.