By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — It happened in an instant.
A fire truck traveling down Ninth Avenue while responding to a call crashed into a passenger car Tuesday morning.
Mark Freyberg, 53, was heading east on 30th Street on his way to work around 9:15 a.m. when he made a right turn on Ninth Avenue.
At the same time, FDNY Ladder 21 responding to an automatic fire alarm on Ninth Avenue and 18th Street was rumbling south down the avenue, sirens blaring.
The fire truck slammed into the car just below 30th Street.
“I couldn’t hear the sirens,” said Freyberg who was visibly shaken. “That was the problem.”
Immediately after the collision, several firemen jumped out of the truck to check on the injured driver.
“They opened the door and asked if I was okay and let me out,” said Freyberg, who lives in Westchester.
An ambulance arrived on the scene minutes later. They released Freyberg without taking him to the hospital. Freyberg said the responders determined he had no serious injuries.
An FDNY spokesman said Freyberg refused medical attention.
The spokesman went on to say Ladder 21 was listed as “out of commission," but did not have details on how damaged the fire truck was.
Ladder 21 left about 20 minutes after the crash with minor damage, according to witnesses at the scene.
