JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman is distraught after her small dog was hit and killed by a fire truck Wednesday.
According to a battalion chief with Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, the accident happened while a crew was on its way to one of two house fires in the Springfield neighborhood.
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The driver of the fire truck that hit the dog told News4Jax that he wants to make things right with the owner, Susan Mitchell. But she said she doesn't think that can happen.
Mitchell said the large ladder truck was speeding down the road when it hit her small Pomeranian Chihuahua.
"This, sir, is a 6-and-a-half-pound Pomeranian Chihuahua who was my special needs dog. Everybody in this area knows Pandora," Mitchell said. "They went off and left her. They did absolutely nothing until I called in. When the fire trucks went down, they came back, they left me to pick my dog up and bring her over here dead."
The firefighter who was driving the truck told News4Jax the dog "ran out in the road and didn't make it."
"She was my companion. She was my best friend. And if that could happen to my dog right there, what say your kid’s there. There was no reason to be racing down this road," Mitchell said.
The driver said he and other firefighters in his unit want to buy Mitchell a new dog, adding that an adoption event is coming up on Dec. 16.
But Mitchell said Pandora was her service dog for five years and cannot be replaced.
"You're offering me a new dog. That will never ... her memory is worth more than anybody to say something like that," Mitchell said.
Mitchell said she's been in touch with a fire department supervisor. She said she wants to contact other fire department leaders to determine whether the truck was driving illegally.