Coon Creek, KY, Firefighter Indicted for Murder in Rig Crash that Claimed Colleague
A Kentucky firefighter and his mother have been indicted in connection with an apparatus crash last fall that claimed the life of Coon Creek Fire Rescue Firefighter Regina Huffman, 39.
Austin Turner, the driver of the Coon Creek fire truck, was charged with murder and wanton endangerment. His bail has been set at $125,000.
His mother, Ethel Turner, who reportedly took him away from the incident, was charged with tampering of physical evidence, according to WYMT.
Her bail was set at $25,000 bail.
Last October, while firefighters were following an ambulance to a landing zone, Turner lost control of the rig after it encountered gravel. The vehicle veered into a ditch and flipped. It continued through two buildings and into the side of a trailer.
When fellow crew members got to the crash, Huffman, was trapped, and Turner had fled the scene, reports indicated.
Huffman was pronounced dead at a hospital. Her son, Firefighter Ben Barton who was in the crash was transported for treatment.
Deputies investigating the wreck found Turner at the hospital. A blood test showed he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, the station reported.
Susan Nicol | News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
