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Woman plows into parked fire truck at accident scene

Had the truck not been where it was, the woman would have rammed into the cars involved in the original collision

By Lori Fowler
The San Bernardino County Sun

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A driver was injured early this morning when she plowed into a parked fire truck that was tending to a traffic collision at an intersection in Rialto.

The incident happened about 2:15 a.m. on the eastbound 10 Freeway at Riverside Avenue, said Tracey Martinez, public information officer for the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

San Bernardino County firefighters were on scene of a two-vehicle, non-injury traffic collision that was blocking the two lanes of freeway, Martinez said. The fire engine had its lights activated and was parked at an angle at the rear of the collision to block the vehicles from oncoming traffic.

As firefighters were returning to their vehicle, an unidentified woman in her early 30’s driving a Hyundai Accent hit the right rear of the fire engine. Her vehicle became lodged under the fire engine and firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to free her.

The woman was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries, Martinez said. There were no other injuries reported.

“Had the fire engine not been parked where it was, the Hyundai would have plowed into the two vehicles involved in the previous collision,” she said.

This crash is the second incident in less than a month where a driver has struck a fire engine already on scene of a collision, Martinez said.

On April 22nd, a man died when his vehicle collided with the back of a fire engine at the Oak Hills off-ramp of the northbound 15 Freeway. One firefighters who was still in the engine was injured.

Officials said the victim was speeding at the time of the crash.

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