In light of a deadly 2023 Columbus fire truck crash in Gahanna costing Columbus more than $1 million in settlements and repairs, the city is investigating how the Division of Fire handled disciplining the firefighters involved.
Columbus Fire Chief Jeffrey M. Happ did not discipline him, but the driver of the fire truck was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.
The Columbus City Council voted June 30 to settle a lawsuit with Patricia Hesson, who was injured in the crash, for $191,000. She brought a personal injury lawsuit against the city in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.
A $750,000 settlement with the estate of 63-year-old Timothy Wiggins, Hesson’s fiancé, who died in the crash, is pending approval in the Franklin County Probate Court and then will come to the council for a vote.
The damage to Fire Engine 5 in the July 2023 crash cost about $191,000 to repair.
At the Columbus Department of Public Safety’s request, the city council also voted June 30 to approve $60,000 for Barnes & Thornburg LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the crash and the review process by the Division of Fire. The Department of Public Safety oversees the divisions of fire and police.
The 25-year-old firefighter who was driving the engine, Tyler Conners, pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter in April 2024. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 180 hours of community service and received a two-year driver’s license suspension.
After that, Happ did not discipline or require remedial driver training for Conners, according to the Department of Public Safety. A disciplinary hearing was never held for Capt. Timothy Boyd, the ranking officer in Engine 5 that night.
Happ found after a July 2024 disciplinary hearing for Conners that, “This was an unfortunate situation that has been resolved in the court system and the case is considered closed for the Columbus Division of Fire,” according to the legislation before the council.
Happ was unavailable for comment and The Dispatch was referred to the Department of Public Safety.
Columbus Director of Public Safety Kate McSweeney-Pishotti said in a statement that this crash resulted in both a tragic death and the hospitalization of another person.
“A Gahanna Police accident investigation, and a subsequent criminal court proceeding, found a member of the Columbus Division of Fire at fault,” McSweeney-Pishotti said. “Despite the criminal sentence, a Division of Fire review found no fault, with no discipline or policy changes enacted.”
McSweeney-Pishotti said taxpayers will bear the cost of the nearly $1 million in legal settlements.
“In the interest of transparency and accountability, the family of Timothy Wiggins, taxpayers, and the community we serve deserve a full accounting of this tragedy,” she said. “An independent investigation is the best course of action.”
Steven Stein, president of Columbus Local 67 chapter of the International Association of Fire Fighters, told The Dispatch that he’s confident any external review of the Division of Fire’s procedures will demonstrate they have the best practices in the industry.
“This matter has been adjudicated,” Stein said. “If they want to put taxpayer dollars toward an investigation, we welcome it because I’m confident we’re doing it as well or better than anyone in the country. But if we’re not, we’re more than willing to take a look at that.”
The city’s director of public safety appoints the fire and police chiefs for five-year terms, up to twice. Happ was named chief of the Columbus Division of Fire in 2021 and is approaching the end of his first five-year term.
What happened in the 2023 fire truck crash?
The crash happened around 10 p.m. on July 23, 2023, on Interstate 270 North in Gahanna. The fire engine’s lights and sirens were not on as it had just been called off an emergency run. To head south toward the fire station, Conners attempted to slow down and merge from the far-right lane of the interstate to the far left lane to make a turn into an emergency vehicle turnaround, according to legislation before the council.
While the fire truck, mostly in the left lane, continued to slow and began to turn into the turnaround, a sedan tried to pass the fire truck on the shoulder, but collided with the fire truck. The fire truck came to a stop while still partly in the left lane and a pickup truck driven by Wiggins collided with the back of the fire truck.
The crash report said Wiggins was going more than 70 mph while the fire engine was traveling at about 23 mph.
The Gahanna Police Department cited Conners for slow speed and lane straddling in addition to initially charging him with aggravated vehicular homicide. The charge was reduced as part of a plea, and the judge dismissed the traffic citations.
Hesson said at Conners’ sentencing that the crash was not an accident, calling it “stupidity.”
Government and politics reporter Jordan Laird can be reached at jlaird@dispatch.com. Follow her on X, Instagram and Bluesky at @LairdWrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus to pay over $1M in deadly fire truck crash, launches probe into fire division
Reporting by Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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