The driver of the vehicle suffered extensive injuries and required extrication from the mangled vehicle. Photo credit: CAL FIRE/Riverside Fire
A woman was seriously after crashing into a pumper on Interstate 15 near Wildomar.
CAL FIRE/Riverside Engine 94 responded along with American Medical Response and the California Highway Patrol responded to a crash the interstate near Railroad Canyon at 7:04 a.m.
While crews were treating a patient at the crash scene, a vehicle slammed into to the back of the pumper.
Firefighters had to extricate the driver of the vehicle, according to a statement from CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire.
The driver sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital by American Medical Response.
No firefighters were injured.
The California High Patrol is investigating the cause of the collision.
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WILDOMAR: Fire engine on emergency call struck by motorist on I-15
October 2, 2016 Trevor Montgomer
The Chevrolet that smashed into the fire engine was completely destroyed in the collision. IE Firefighter photo
WILDOMAR – A Cal Fire/Riverside County fire engine sustained major damage while working on a traffic collision call when it was struck by a vehicle on Interstate 15 in Wildomar Sunday morning, Oct. 2.
Firefighters were providing medical aid for those injured in the first collision when it was struck from behind. The first accident was reported just before 7 a.m.
Paramedic Engine E-94 from the City of Lake Elsinore’s Canyon Hills Fire Station 94 was parked on the right side of the freeway in a position to provide protection for firefighters as they worked.
While firefighters were working with the victims injured in the first collision a Chevrolet HHR traveling at high-speed smashed into the back end of the rig, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department officials.
Paramedic Engine E-94 sustained major damage in the rear end collision. Tommy Voegele photo
The two accidents happened on the freeway near the Olive Street underpass, which is south of Railroad Canyon and north of Bundy Canyon Roads
The second collision – that occurred at about 7:25 a.m. – caused a Sig Alert that shut down all southbound lanes of freeway traffic for several hours, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log.
16 firefighters from three engine companies and one truck company as well as a fire investigator and three battalion commanders responded to the scene after the accident involving the fire engine, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Public Information Officer Jody Hagemann.
The driver of the Chevrolet that struck the fire engine was trapped inside their vehicle and had to be extricated from his wrecked vehicle. Paramedics treated the victim at the scene before they transported him by ground ambulance to a nearby hospital. The victim sustained major injuries, according to Hagemann.
The Chevrolet was unrecognizable after the accident. Tommy Voegele photo
“(This is) a reminder of why we use our apparatus as a barrier on emergency incidents,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department Unit & Fire Chief John Hawkins wrote after the traffic collision.
As a precautionary measure one firefighter was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to Hawkins.
Canyon Hills Station 94 is located on Railroad Canyon Road just outside the community of Canyon Hills. The station serves the southeast area of the City of Lake Elsinore, portions of Wildomar and Canyon Lake. Paramedic Engine 94 was the stations primary engine before it was destroyed in the collision.
Tommy Voegele, a tow truck driver who responded to the accident scene, later wrote on social media, “This morning, these firefighters were just doing their jobs and helping some people who got into an accident when another car hit the back of their fire truck.”
“The driver of the Chevrolet hit the fire engine so hard his motor flew out of his car and landed about 100 feet away,” Voegele explained. “Everyone needs to open their eyes and pay better attention.”
The impact was so severe the Chevrolet’s engine was thrown over 100 feet after the collision. Tommy Voegele photo
“It’s easy,” Voegele explained, “just slow down and move over for emergency vehicles, police officers and tow trucks.”
“Luckily, none of the firefighters where seriously injured,” Voegele said.
The I-15 on-ramp at Railroad Canyon Road was reopened at about 9:30 a.m. All other lanes of traffic were reopened just before 11 a.m.
California High Patrol officers are investigating the cause of the collision. Officers have not yet ruled out alcohol or drug intoxication as contributing factors in the collision.