Several injured, two arrested, after crashes involving ambulance

MOUNTAIN GATE — Several people were injured and two drivers were arrested, after two separate crashes this afternoon, Monday, Sept. 16.

The two crashes, one of which involved an ambulance whose crew was tending to the injured parties involved in the first crash, happened on the southbound I-5, about 10 miles north of Redding and just south of the unincorporated community of Mountain Gate.

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After the back-to-back accidents, CHP – Redding reported via social media that they were investigating two separate and unrelated crashes that occurred at the same location. According to CHP,  both crashes resulted in the arrest of drivers suspected of being under the influence.

Two drivers were arrested for DUI after separate crashes, one of which involved an ambulance. CHP – Redding photo

The first collision, which happened around 2 p.m., “was a minor injury rear end collision where the at fault driver was arrested for DUI,” CHP said in their social media release.

While officers were investigating the first crash and Dignity Health medics were tending to those injured in the collision, another motorist in a white Nissan SUV plowed into the back of the ambulance.

“The force of the collision with the ambulance forced the white SUV back into the lanes striking two passing vehicles,” described CHP.

While an ambulance crew evaluated and treated victims injured in the first collision, another vehicle plowed into the back of the ambulance and then struck two additional vehicles. CHP – Redding photo

“The second DUI driver was arrested on scene and transported to Mercy with major injuries,” CHP continued. “All the other drivers were ok, including the paramedics from the ambulance.”

Photographs shared by CHP in their social media release showed the white Nissan involved in the second DUI-related collision sustained major front end damage. Photographs also showed the ambulance sustained moderate damage to its right, rear side; but the emergency vehicle appeared to still be driveable.

The dual accident investigations, which involved a total of four cars and one ambulance, caused the southbound lanes to be reduced for about two hours, according to CHP.

Other details surrounding the collisions are still under investigation.

Today’s accident caused the partial closure of the southbound I-5 Freeway about 10 miles north of Redding. CHP – Redding photo

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor 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, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.