A firefighter injured in a wreck earlier this month while heading to a woods fire is home tonight.
Saturday afternoon Capt. Jerry Meares with Fair Bluff Fire Rescue left Grand Strand Regional Medical Center. Meares had to go through several surgeries for his injuries. A group from Horry County Fire Rescue came out to watch him leave the hospital.
"It's been a very very humbling experience for everybody on the department and including him and Ashleigh both. Ashleigh is still in Columbia. I hate that she couldn't be here but she's on the mend," says Lt. Amanda Strickland with Fair Bluff Fire Rescue.
Two weeks ago Mears and firefighter Ashleigh Wilson were on their way to help HCFR and other agencies with a 180 acre woods fire off West Perry Road when the tanker truck's tire blew out, causing the truck to overturn several times.
Fair Bluff firefighters say Wilson was wearing a seat belt, but was thrown from the truck. They say Meares was trapped under part of the truck for about 35 minutes.
