Midewin IHC Hit by Vehicle Fatality 2004

Firefighter Toepke and the members of his hotshot crew were returning to their home base after assisting with fire fighting efforts in the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida. The crew stopped in Arkansas to rest for the evening. Witnesses saw Firefighter Toepke and 2 other firefighters running to cross Interstate 40. As the 2 leading firefighters entered the roadway, they were struck by a passing tractor-trailer truck. Firefighter Toepke was killed, the second firefighter was seriously injured, and the third firefighter was uninjured. A law enforcement report on the incident indicated that the truck driver did not have time to react or avoid hitting the firefighters.