Firefighter whose leg was amputated after crash remains in critical condition

A Springfield Twp. volunteer firefighter had to have his leg amputated after a car hit him and pinned him against a vehicle from an earlier collision, where he was trying to rescue a trapped driver.

  • The firefighter is David Noble, 72
  • He remained in critical, but stable, condition Friday morning

UPDATE @6:50 a.m. 11/2

David Noble remains in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital.

UPDATE @ 7:10 p.m.: Springfield Twp. staff members have come together to support firefighter David Noble, 72, who remained in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital as of Thursday evening.

"I know he's a very active individual, very fit," said Mike Hively, Springfield Twp. fiscal officer.

Noble has been a volunteer firefighter with the department for a year and a half, Hively said, and is a hard worker. He's retired from the Air Force and a rescue diver.

Hively called Noble's wife, who is the township's office manager, to see how he's doing.

"We support them 100 percent," Hively said. "We're behind them."

He's concerned about firefighters when they respond to scenes, he said, because he knows the dangers they face.

"I worry about these guys," he said.

UPDATE @ 1:29 p.m.:

The Springfield Twp. firefighter, David Noble, 72, who had to have his leg amputated after becoming pinned in wreckage, is a volunteer for the department and an Air Force veteran.

Mike Hively, a Springfield Twp. fiscal officer, said Noble is extremely active and well known in the diving community.

Noble is listed in stable but critical condition.

UPDATE @ 6:15 a.m. (Nov. 2)

The firefighter injured in a Springfield Twp. crash Wednesday night has been identified.

David E. Noble, 72, of Springfield, is listed in critical but stable condition at Miami Valley Hospital.

Sgt. Jason Cadle with the Ohio Highway Patrol Springfield Post said he had have a leg amputated.

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According to the officials, Noble was on the scene of a crash on U.S. 68 where a Suburban was facing facing southbound in northbound lanes. As Noble was attempting to help the driver out of the Suburban, a blue Chevrolet Cobalt northbound on U.S. 68 ran into him, pinning him against the Suburban.

The driver of the Suburban, Jo Ellen Stringer, 48, of Springfield, was treated and released from Springfield Regional Hospital. The driver of the Cobalt, identified as Devin A. Smith, 27, of Springfield, was not injured.

The crash remains under investigation.

FIRST REPORT (Nov. 1)

A firefighter hit by a car while on scene of a crash has lost his leg to amputation, said Sgt. Jason Cadle with the Ohio Highway Patrol Springfield Post.

The firefighter, whose name and age have not been released, was standing by one of the vehicles in an initial crash between a pickup truck and large SUV at Fairfield Pike and U.S. 68 north.

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The firefighter became pinned between one of the two vehicles from the initial collision and a third vehicle that “slid through” the accident scene just after 10 p.m.

The firefighter was taken to Miami Valley Hospital after first being taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center, the sergeant said.

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The two people in the initial accident are believed to have suffered minor injuries. They have been taken to Springfield regional, he said. That accident involved a failure to yield at Fairfield Pike/U.S. 68 North intersection, he said.

Cadle said that according to the preliminary investigation, there was no sign of impairment on the part of the driver who hit the firefighter.

But, Cadle said, the investigations into the accidents are not complete.

U.S. 68 was closed in both directions while the crash was investigated.

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