INCIDENT DESCRIPTION
On August 3, 2025, Seattle Fire Ladder 4 was driving on 2nd Avenue without lights or sirens. I’m not sure what they were doing since they weren’t on a call at the time, but they may have been out for groceries or headed toward training, or something else. Near Blanchard Street, the driver of a 2025 Honda Civic offered the crew “whippits,” or nitrous oxide as an inhalant drug. Firefighters declined, and the driver sideswiped Ladder 4’s bumper, then backed into the rig twice before fleeing the scene. The suspect was later spotted by police, but they did not pursue after he continued to drive recklessly. The same happened in Kent, a city 20 miles south of Seattle, and the driver escaped. The suspect, Zachary R. McCreary, of Tacoma, was arrested in the city of Fife, 30 miles south of Seattle, by Kent police officers on August 6, three days after ramming the fire truck in Seattle. McCreary was tracked down by police outside his work. He had four incidents since June 2025, but kept evading capture until recently. He faces three counts of eluding, attempted 2nd degree assault, reckless driving, and possibly future weapon charges. Ladder 4 received minor damage to its front bumper but did not need to be towed and continued to respond to calls that shift.
Sources:
https://sfdlive.com/?id=F250106029
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/man-accused-ramming-seattle-fire-truck-escaping-police-arrested-fife/ELAZDA2UJ5G3FPDV564KTJMPZI/
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/suspect-arrested-after-offering-whippets-seattle-firefighters-ramming-fire-engine/281-47f4013d-127c-4342-b4fa-17e91fab0da9
———————————————————————————————————————–
AUDIO
This is real audio from SFD Channel 2 (general fire ops) & Channel 5 (unit to dispatch) and SPD West Dispatch (standard west precinct comms).
Audio is synced with video.
———————————————————————————————————————–
UNITS
Units dispatched were: B2, L4, & SAFT2
Units seen in this video were: L4
SPD units seen in this video were: 35734, 35215, 35789, 34943, & 35788
SFD A Shift
———————————————————————————————————————–
MY LINKS
Check out my website! It has real-life photography from nearby Kitsap County and more! https://sites.google.com/view/evansphotos
Follow my Twitter/X account:
x.com/seatrafficcams2
Follow my Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/evanphotography08/
Follow my Flickr account:
Subscribe to my second channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@KitsapWashingtonAdventures
My email: WA_TCR@protonmail.com
———————————————————————————————————————–
CREDITS
This channel and is heavily inspired by SeattleTrafficCams by LucasFirebuffing. I highly recommend you check him out, his videos are very well made: @/SeattleTrafficCams
Cameras operated by Seattle Department of Transportation
Video archived by SafetyVid.org – Thank you!!
Audio archived by openmhz – Super helpful!
Unit/incident information from sfdlive – Amazing resource!
Video edited by me using ClipChamp by Microsoft (ew)
WTCR seeks to highlight the everyday operations of first responders in several major Washington state cities, as seen from public traffic cameras. This channel focuses on their actions, responses, and of course their shiny trucks. WTCR is not monetized.
Thanks for watching! These descriptions sure take a long time to write…