PALM HARBOR, Fla. — A Palm Harbor Fire Rescue firefighter is alert and communicating with loved ones the day after she was slammed into by a pickup truck as she was responding to a separate crash.
Lt. Ashley White is still in the ICU and has several surgeries ahead of her, Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Chief Scott Sanford said.
"We're talking months and years [for recovery], not days and weeks," Sanford explained.
He says on Wednesday she had a six-hour surgery on her left leg and is set to have surgery on her left arm on Thursday.
Sanford says he was "elated" to know she was alert and interacting with loved ones, explaining that initial information about her condition didn't look good. He says he has spoken to her since her leg surgery.
Following the first surgery, surgeons said it went well and they were optimistic, according to Sanford.
Lt. White was responding to a crash just after 3 a.m. Wednesday on U.S. 19 and Innisbrook Drive when a pickup truck slammed into two fire trucks and then hit her. The truck then hit a fire hydrant before coming to a stop.
The driver of the truck was also rushed to the hospital where he died.
The two individuals in the initial crash had minor injuries.
Sanford says White took every safety precaution when the pickup truck hit her, noting that White is an exemplary firefighter.
There is currently a GoFundMe to help the 38-year-old firefighter's family pay for expenses. Sanford says her husband is a Clearwater firefighter.
Donations will also be accepted at Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Station 65.
You can watch Fire Chief Sanford's full update here:
