Colorado Springs firefighter charged with misdemeanor after driving over homeless woman

The driver of a Colorado Springs Fire Department vehicle that fatally struck a homeless woman last month was charged Thursday with a misdemeanor traffic offense. 

Wesley Cosgrove, 52, was cited for Careless Driving Resulting in Death, the Colorado Springs Police Department told CBS News Colorado on Friday.

Cosgrove was behind the wheel of a CSFD brush truck responding to a call the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 16. A CSFD fire engine crew arrived first at Dorchester Park located at 1130 South Nevada Avenue. The call involved a tree stump that was on fire, and the fire engine crew requested a brush truck as part of the response.

A brush truck is pickup-sized and considered more suitable for off-road assignments than a heavy, larger fire engine. 

Cosgrove's brush truck entered the park directly from the street, driving over a curb and sidewalk and onto a dirt path, according to an earlier CSPD press release. The brush truck encountered "debris" consisting partly of blankets spread which was spread over both the dirt path and grass adjacent to the path. 

The woman, 76-year-old Margaret Miller, was lying underneath the blankets. 

Crews from both the CSFD trucks began immediate treatment, but Miller passed away at the scene.