2 pedestrians seriously injured when hose falls off Chapel Hill fire engine

Two people were seriously injured Friday afternoon when a hose fell off a Chapel Hill fire truck and struck them on the sidewalk, the town said.

The Chapel Hill Police Department responded just after 3:30 p.m. to the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Weaver Dairy Road in the northern part of town.

According to investigators, the driver of the fire engine was turning from southbound MLK Jr. Boulevard onto eastbound Weaver Dairy Road when a hose on the truck fell off and hit two people walking on a sidewalk at the intersection, according to a town news release.

Both people were taken to UNC Hospitals with serious injuries, the release stated.

The fire engine was responding to a crash with its lights and siren on at the time of the incident.

The driver, whose name was not released, was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure, pending the police investigation and the fire department’s administrative investigation, the release stated.

We will update this story as we get more information.

This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM.