A Baltimore police officer died and four firefighters were taken to a local hospital Wednesday after the officer's car rear-ended a parked fire engine on U.S. 40, officials said.
Officer Tommy Portz, a 10-year veteran and married father of three, was pronounced dead while being taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, officials said. The 32-year-old is the third active city officer killed in less than a month.
Fire Chief James Clack said that Engine 8 was dispatched to a report of an injured person in the median area of Calhoun and Franklin streets but could not locate a patient. Firefighters observed a film crew working in the road and stopped to ask if they had seen anything.
That's when Portz's vehicle ran into the fire engine at a high rate of speed, causing significant front-end damage, Clack said. There were no skid marks behind the car to indicate that he had braked.