The Associated Press
NEW YORK New York — A van carrying special-needs adults and a fire engine collided Wednesday, killing one person in the van and injuring several others, two of them seriously, police said.
The Fire Department of New York said its truck was headed to a car fire with its lights and sirens on when it got into the accident.
The passenger van, from a nonprofit organization called Lifestyles for the Disabled, was carrying seven special needs adults, plus a driver and an aide, police said.
A man in the van died. Another person from the van was critically injured and a third person was seriously hurt. The rest were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening. Six firefighters suffered minor injuries.
The fire engine, from Ladder 81, was driving through a Staten Island intersection when it hit the van’s rear driver-side door as it made a left turn, police said. Officials didn’t immediately suspect any criminality, but the investigation was continuing.
Lifestyles for the Disabled was started in 1994 through collaboration between parents, community organizations, local business people and disabled people, according to its website. It provides education, employment training and recreational activities for disabled.
It’s not clear where the van was headed when the accident happened. A woman with the organization said they had no immediate comment and that the organization was concerned about participants and families and making sure they were taken care of first.