RIVERSIDE, CA — A firefighter was injured when a car plowed into his crew’s engine while they were battling a brush fire adjacent to the Moreno Valley (60) Freeway in Riverside, officials said Tuesday.
The crash happened just before 6 p.m. Monday on the eastbound 60 near Day Street, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
Battalion Chief Bruce Vanderhorst said six engine crews, numbering about two dozen personnel, were sent to the location and encountered flames burning at a slow rate in medium vegetation close to the freeway exit ramp.
The engines parked alongside the freeway, with California Highway Patrol officers partially blocking traffic for public safety, Vanderhorst said.
“During the fire suppression operations, a passenger vehicle impacted an engine company and struck the engine operator at the pump panel,” the battalion chief said.
Paramedics at the scene immediately rendered aid to their fellow crew member. The driver of the vehicle, who was the sole occupant, was not hurt.
The victim firefighter, whose name was not released, was taken to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment of unspecified moderate injuries and was recovering Tuesday.
The brush fire was contained to just under a half-acre an hour later, according to Vanderhorst. He said an investigation could not determine the exact cause.
CHP officers questioned the motorist, who also wasn’t identified, but the person was not arrested.
Eastbound lanes were completely reopened by 8 p.m. Monday.
