A collision early Friday morning, between a fire engine and a car in Centreville, resulted in injuries to three people and DWI charges placed against one. The accident occurred Jan. 14, around 1:30 a.m., at the intersection of Route 28 and Old Centreville Road.
According to Fairfax County police, Tiffany Ciabattoni, 24, of 11400 block of Sunflower Lane in Fairfax, was driving a 1997 Toyota Corolla north on Route 28. At the same time, a firefighter and a paramedic on their way to a medical emergency had just left Fire Station 17 on Old Centreville Road.
The rescue personnel were in a fire engine — with its emergency lights and siren on — turning left onto Route 28 south, when their vehicle and the Toyota crashed into each other in the middle of the intersection. All three people were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, and police charged Ciabattoni with DWI.
The Toyota's front passenger-side quarter panel was damaged, as was the front driver's side quarter panel of the 1996 Pierce Lance fire engine. Afterward, a second fire and rescue vehicle had to be dispatched to respond to the emergency call, and still another had to respond to the accident.
That meant that at least three such vehicles were tied up, as a result of the collision. Regarding Ciabattoni, police spokesman Bud Walker said, "This citizen's actions really hampered the county's ability to respond to other emergencies."