CORDELE — A fiery crash involving a Crisp County Fire and Rescue truck took the life of an Ohio man and left a county firefighter in critical condition Saturday.

Tommy Hauesler of Cordele suffered multiple injuries including burns, two collapsed lungs, two broken shoulders and other wounds when the fire truck he was driving was struck by an 18-wheeler driven by Shane Alan Waters, age 33, of New Madison, Ohio. The collision occurred at approximately 8:45 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of U.S. Hwy 41 and Rockhouse Road.

According to Crisp County Fire Chief Ray Lunsford, Hauesler was driving north on U.S. 41 from the Arabi fire station on his way to a training session for county firefighters at CCFR Station 1 in Cordele when the wreck happened. Lunsford said he could tell from the skid marks left at the scene that Hauesler, who he described as “an excellent driver,” was caught by surprise.

Troopers with Georgia State Patrol Post 30 that were on the scene said it appeared the driver of the 18-wheeler, who was heading west on Rockhouse Road, failed to yield the right of way at the intersection, which is marked not only with signage but also a flashing traffic light.

Hauesler, who was reportedly able to respond verbally to paramedics after the crash, underwent emergency surgery at Crisp Regional Hospital and was later transported to the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, where physicians are monitoring his condition.

Col. Billy Hancock with the Crisp County Sheriff’s Office praised the four emergency first responders with Crisp County EMS who risked their lives to pull the two drivers from the burning wreckage.

“They did a great job and put their lives at risk to try to save the two drivers,” Hancock said.

The four EMS emergency responders on the scene were David Edwards, Dan Taylor, Connie Laster, and Phillip Cook. Hauesler was pulled from the overturned fire truck before the flames completely consumed the cab, but Waters, the driver of the 18-wheeler, apparently died on or shortly after impact.