Raleigh Firefighter Injured In Three-Vehicle Crash Dies

According to a WakeMed spokeswoman, a Raleigh fire commander who suffered critical personal injuries in a December 4 crash involving a Wake County school bus died of those injuries on December 11.

Veteran firefighter Harry P. Kissinger at WakeMed after suffering head trauma in an accident on Ligon Mill Road in North Raleigh.

According to Sgt. J.E. Brewer, a spokesman for the North Carolina Highway Patrol, charges that were expected to be filed against the driver of the school bus, Garner resident Sheila Hall, will now be reviewed by the Wake County District Attorney’s Office.

City authorities say Kissinger, a married father of two young daughters, joined the fire department on October 27, 1997 and was assigned to Fire Station Six on Fairview Road.

The Highway Patrol said that the fatal wreck occurred shortly before 6:30 a.m.

According to an accident reconstruction team, the bus, driven by Hall, crossed the center line and clipped a Ford Taurus before colliding head-on with the Dodge pickup truck Kissinger was driving.

City officials say Kissinger was returning home from work at the time of the crash.

Kissinger was pinned inside his truck for nearly 45 minutes as his fellow firefighters cut the top off the vehicle off in order to extract him.