Today, the City of Baltimore settled a wrongful death suit brought by the estates of three people killed in a SUV that collided with a ladder truck in 2007.
The accident occurred at 3:00 am on December 9, 2007, when Ladder 27 was responding to a report of smoke in an apartment building. It collided with an SUV killing Iryna Petrov, 49, her husband, Mikhail Petrov, 35, and Igor Saub, 24, and injuring all four of the firefighters aboard.
Investigators concluded the ladder was traveling at 47 mph at the time, while the SUV was traveling at 23 mph. The fire turned out to be food on the stove. No criminal charges were filed against the driver of the ladder.
The case was settled for the modest sum of $40,000. Alex Poberesky, attorney for the plaintiffs, said concerns about strong immunity protection afforded to firefighters and fire departments in Maryland factored into the decision.