Fire Truck Driver Cleared in Pedestrian Death

The Stafford County firefighter driving the truck which struck and killed a pedestrian Dec. 27 has been cleared in the incident.

"The Stafford County Sheriff's Office has completed its investigation and the driver has been cleared of any wrong doing and will not be charged," said Bill Kennedy, Stafford County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.  "The identity of the driver is not being released."

John Whitehurst, 69, of North Myrtle Beach, S.C. was crossing in the 500 block of Warrenton Road when the fire truck hit him.  "The fire truck was responding to an accident on I-95 and had its lights and siren activated," Kennedy said. 

Witness statements at the scene corroborated the investigation by the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office, which showed Whitehurst was not using a crosswalk and was crossing in a darkened area of the road when he was struck.

"The driver of the fire truck did try to evade the pedestrian but was unable to avoid hitting the man," Kennedy said.  

An autopsy has been completed and the Sheriff’s Office is awaiting the toxicology report, Kennedy said.

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