GOING HOME IN STYLE

PEERS ESCORT FIREFIGHTER HURT IN I-675 CRASH

His fellow firefighters escorted him out of the hospital at 9:30 a.m. They gently lifted Arnold, who was in a wheelchair, into Engine No. 42 and took him and his girlfriend home.

Arnold did not speak with reporters, but in a statement, he thanked his friends, the hospital staff and community members for their support.

`All of you have played a part in my recovery,' he said in his statement.

Fire department Capt. Tom Beal said Arnold still remembers nothing about the accident. The last thing he recalls is getting off the fire truck at Interstate 675 and Wilmington Pike.

Arnold, fellow Washington Twp. firefighter Robert J. O'Toole and Centerville police Officer John P. Kalaman were responding to an accident on I-675 when a Chevrolet Camaro hit an icy patch and slid off the road. All three were hit. Arnold alone survived.

The 29-year-old suffered brain trauma, broken legs, a broken pelvis, a ruptured spleen and injuries to his kidneys and liver.

Though Arnold will be in rehabilitation for a long time to come, he is talking about rejoining his mates at the station someday, according to Beal.

`He wants to get back to work,' Beal said.

Though he said the accident had left Arnold "a little bit emotional ... and confused," Beal said he carried on a spirited conversation with the young firefighter Saturday.

"It was just like the old Chuck," he said.

Neither Beal nor fire department spokesman Richard A. Palmer would comment on Friday's news that the driver of the Camaro, Beavercreek resident Bernadette E. Barton, is facing two misdemeanor charges related to the accident.

The Kettering municipal prosecutor's office has charged Barton with speed unreasonable for conditions and failure to control. The maximum penalty for each is a $100 fine.

Earlier in the week, the Montgomery County prosecutor's office announced it would not file felony charges against Barton.

Barton is still considering whether to contest the misdemeanor charges, according to her lawyer.

Monica O'Toole, wife of the firefighter killed in the accident, declined to comment Saturday. Kalaman's parents could not be reached for comment.

CREDIT: WHIO-TV

CONTACT John Keilman at 225-2362 or e-mail john_keilman@coxohio.com