HAMILTON CITY, Calif. — A fire truck responding to a vehicle wreck collided with a pickup Monday afternoon, killing the driver after he suffered major injuries.
Chico Enterprise-Record reported that the Hamilton City Fire Department engine was on its way to an accident when a man driving a truck came into its lane.
Volunteer firefighter Mario Medrano, 27, was driving the 1991 Ford F600 with its lights and sirens going, according to the report. Firefighter Medrano was on his way to an accident involving a double-bottom dump truck that went off the road and down an embankment, according to the report. The driver of that truck complained of pain, but wasn’t seriously injured.
The man, who is thought to be in his 60s, began going to the right to yield, but for an unknown reason he made a sharp left turn into the path of the engine and was broadsided, according to the report
Officials say he may have been avoiding crashing into a car in front of him, but has not yet been confirmed, according to the report.
The man had to be freed from his pickup and was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. Firefighter Medrano was also transported to the hospital as a precaution, according to the report.