WILDOMAR: Fire engine on emergency call struck by motorist on I-15

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.

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.

“(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.”

“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.

 

 

 

 

 

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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.