10-year-old boy – A speeding fire truck responding to a blaze collided with a Mini Cooper in Hemet, killing the driver and a 10-year-old passenger and injuring three firefighters. Investigators say alcohol or drugs were not believed to be factors as the crash remains under inve
Around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, emergency lights and sirens were already cutting through the afternoon in Hemet when a Cal Fire engine was hit in a crash that killed two people and sent three firefighters to the hospital.
The California Highway Patrol said the fire truck was northbound on State Street with its emergency lights and siren activated. The collision happened when a sedan headed west on Gibbel Road struck the engine.
The driver of the Mini Cooper—a 43-year-old man from San Jacinto—died at the scene. A 10-year-old boy riding in the front passenger seat also died from injuries later taken to Inland Valley Medical Center. Cal Fire said. A young passenger in the back seat was hospitalized for a precautionary evaluation.
Authorities said all three people in the Mini Cooper were believed to be wearing seatbelts.
Cal Fire reported that the engine’s driver and two other firefighters riding in the apparatus were transported to Inland Valley Hospital for evaluation. Medical personnel later released all three.
Investigators said they do not believe alcohol or drugs contributed to the crash, and the incident remains under investigation.
The Cal Fire engine involved was part of a strike team from the Tulare Unit in Visalia that had been called to Southern California as several fires burned. The engine was responding to the Cranston fire. which burned 2 acres in the Valle Vista community of Riverside County before being contained. according to Watch Duty. a nonprofit that tracks wildfires.
For the families affected, the tragedy unfolded in seconds: one crash between a speeding emergency response and a regular drive, leaving a child and an adult dead while firefighters were checked out at the hospital.
Hemet Riverside County Cal Fire fire truck collision CHP Mini Cooper Cranston fire Inland Valley Medical Center firefighters injured