Firefighter killed after responding to I-39 wreck

HUDSON, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say a central Illinois firefighter was killed and five of his colleagues injured when a tractor-trailer hit three emergency vehicles.

The emergency responders were working the scene of an Interstate 39 accident Tuesday night when a tractor-trailer hauling a load of automobiles lost control and hit three of the emergency vehicles belonging to the Hudson Community Fire Protection District and the Illinois State Police.

Authorities say 39-year-old firefighter Christopher Brown died. He was a career Bloomington firefighter and a married father of two children.

All of the injured were taken to a hospital in Normal with injuries not considered life-threatening.