The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

Fire truck collides with car in Lancaster, 4 injured

by •

The collision happened just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the intersection of 10th Street West and Newgrove Street. The fire utility truck was headed westbound on Newgrove Street with lights and sirens, and the car that failed to yield was traveling southbound on 10th Street West, sheriff's officials said. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)
The collision happened around 2:08 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the intersection of 10th Street West and Newgrove Street. A fire utility truck was westbound on Newgrove Street with lights and sirens activated, and the car that failed to yield was southbound on 10th Street West, sheriff’s officials said. (Photo by LUIS MEZA)

LANCASTER – Four people were injured, including a pregnant female who was ejected, when a fire utility truck collided with a car in a Lancaster intersection Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The injury collision happened just after 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, in the intersection of 10th Street West and Newgrove Street, according to Sgt. David Jennings of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

Jennings said a fire utility truck with lights and sirens activated was traveling west on Newgrove Street, responding to an emergency call for a person in distress. He said the fire truck stopped at a red light at the intersection of 10th Street West while its driver was “clearing lanes.”

A pregnant woman in the back seat was ejected from the vehicle during the collision, officials said. The driver and the other passenger were also injured. (LUIS MEZA)
A pregnant female in the back seat was ejected from the vehicle during the collision, officials said. The driver and another passenger were also injured. (LUIS MEZA)

“Five of the six lanes of traffic stopped,” Jennings said.

A Toyota Avalon traveling southbound on 10th Street West had the green light but failed to yield to the emergency vehicle at the intersection, according to Detective Michael Politano of the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

“The Toyota Avalon changed lanes from the No. 2 to the No. 3 lane to pass the stopped vehicles and collided into the emergency vehicle in the intersection,” Politano stated. “The collision diverted the Toyota Avalon into a traffic signal pole.”

The firefighter was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital with minor injuries, officials said. (LUIS MEZA)
A firefighter was transported to Antelope Valley Hospital with minor injuries, officials said. (LUIS MEZA)

“The Toyota Avalon ultimately came to rest facing northbound in the southbound lanes of 10th Street West,” Politano added.

The Toyota Avalon was carrying a driver and two passengers, including a pregnant female who was sitting in the back seat, Jennings said, adding that the female appeared to be about seven or eight months pregnant.

“During the collision between the Toyota Avalon and the traffic signal pole, the pregnant female passenger was ejected from the vehicle,” Politano stated.

“According to witnesses, it looked like the car was going rather fast, but the witnesses were all stopped for the emergency vehicle and this other car did not,” Jennings said.

The pregnant female and the other two occupants in the Toyota Avalon were transported to Antelope Valley Hospital for medical treatment. The extent of their injuries was unclear. The firefighter sustained “very minor” injuries and was also transported to Antelope Valley Hospital, Jennings added.

The firefighter was the sole occupant in the fire utility truck.

Neither alcohol nor drugs appeared to be factors in the collision, according to Jennings.

“The law clearly states that when an emergency vehicle approaches, you’re supposed to move over to the right and stop,” Jennings said. “I can’t say what’s going through this person’s mind, whether he just didn’t hear or see the emergency vehicle, but it does tend to be a problem in these busy streets here in the Antelope Valley.”

Names and ages of the injured parties were not immediately released Tuesday afternoon. The incident remains under investigation.

–

Editor’s note: Investigators have not yet determined whether or not the occupants in the Toyota Avalon were wearing seat belts. Tuesday afternoon Sgt. Jennings said, “We’ve already inspected the seat belts. It looked they were worn, but it’s really hard to say at this point.”

Filed Under: Lancaster

59 comments for "Fire truck collides with car in Lancaster, 4 injured"

  1. Here in MN, we have white lights attached to the traffic lights, which lets us know that an emergency vehicle is coming and for us to be prepared to either stop or stay out of the intersection.

    I have been gone from the AV area now for 18 years, and noticed on my recent trip in June of last year, that drivers in the AV do not know how to drive. every street is a race way to see who is going to be one another to the next light. NO common sense in some drivers in pulling over when needed. This person driving this car did NOT care about their passengers. they wanted to get ahead of traffic and not realizing that ALL cars were stopped for a reason. IDIOT.

  2. Dear AV drivers…… Stop driving like @$$holes.
    Sincerely, the biker you almost killed yesterday, and the day before, and the day bef………

  4. idk what happened but we should all be on the alert wile driving cause there is a lot of people who are careless and wreck less out there but its better to be one minute late than to loose your life in one minute.

  5. They should install movie cameras in the emergency vehicles and take pictures of the ones that don’t move over and the ones thatstop in the middle of the lanes

  7. Ok the good news here is that everybody survived. Let’s take a moment to thank God and the Universe for this. The lady is in the backseat she can’t control the driver who knows what trauma issues she had growing up, nobody is going to charge her. Be happy she and baby survived. It is a blessing. Now lancaster is in a certain position. We are big enough that we have a lot of traffic accidents and pedestrian deaths. But we are small enough that every incident matters and we care about it. What we need to do as a progressive community that values life and growth is look into google driverless cars. The computers can compensate for human error! We are the first with an eye in the sky like it or detest it, we are on the cutting edge of solar technology and aerospace. To all my city planners that are reading this: look I to becoming a pilot city for driverless cars.

  8. People never yield or lull to the right, pay attention and this would not have happened. Oh well guess the tax payers will be paying for their ignorance (the driver and passengers of the car)

  9. A couple of months ago, my husband, child, and I were going through an intersection, and we had the green. All of a sudden, a sheriffs vehicle speeding west down ave J appears out of nowhere…only with flashing lights which we did not see since we were headed north…halfway through the intersection. He came within a few feet of hitting us, then he decided to turn the siren on. I think it’s really sickening how those who are in a position of authority, try to use it to their own advantage, abusing their power. Just saying….

    • And this case is nothing like that. The fire truck had it’s sirens and lights going and all the other cars stopped. The driver of the Avalon chose to try and pass all those stopped vehicles. It was NOT the person in a position of authority who was at fault. I’m just saying…

    • We have noticed that fire and police rarely use the sirens anymore or they turn them on just as they enter the intersections. I don’t know why they don’t use them but have had many times when we enter intersections and all of a sudden there they are.

  10. We feel for the lady and the unborn, but stupid is as stupid does, we hope the undorn child is fine but the lady should be charged with attempted murder, or child endangerment, or should there be a law for self endangerment.

    • She wasn’t driving so why should she be charged? It isn’t her fault the driver was being careless.

      • If she is above 16 years of age she is responsible for safely securing herself in any motor vehicle.

        27315. (e) No person 16 years of age or over shall be a passenger in a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person is properly restrained by a safety belt.

        • Exactly. Not wearing your seatbelt is against the law. Not wearing your seat belt when you are pregnant is disgusting.

  11. my son and I were on our way to the dmv traffic was heavy and some bikes with or cars had the radio super loud. I thank god we where one block away on the time of the accident.

  12. Ok, speed is not the issue in the AV. The issue is that there are to many uneducated, impatient, ignorant people who only care about themselves and the 2 seconds they can save by driving like a complete moron. Changing the speed limit wont help, it can’t fix stupid. What needs to change are the tests that are taken to get your license. As well as the lawyers you can hire to get you out of your ticket.

    • I recently had to take the written test to renew my license. I breezed through it but as I was waiting in line at the end, 6 people in front of me each failed 3 times. I was dumbfounded. These weren’t teenagers either, they were all 20 something’s or older. Scary really

      • I’ve talked to people that have failed the written test and they were all from different states. California has one of the most challenging written test compared to most states. Which is good because some states make it incredibly easy to pass by making the answers obvious which I disagree with it being easy. Speaking from experience.

  13. It is getting very dangerous to drive around here. There is an incredible amount of traffic that our streets can’t handle. Around the mall, for instance. They keep allowing more buildings/businesses. It is a mess. Speed limits are too high. People are driving very badly. There is a reason for that. Police are not stopping and ticketing as much. A couple of years ago complaints were made to the Justice Dept., who found the police and housing dept. at fault–I believe because of who our President and then Attorney General are. So, the police are not pulling over people because they don’t want those complaints/accusations again. Now we have people driving irratically and disobeying laws, people who know they are going to get away with it, just by throwing out a couple of words.

    • So by reading your comment if the LASD OR CHP ticket people around the mall area are you hinting to the fact because our president is African American that those are the only people driving like jackasses around the crowded mall area? You are a really ignorant human being to even make a comment as such…you are saying that if a African American person gets pulled over and ticketed for violation of a simple traffic law they will automatically throw the “because I am black card” I hope you sleep well at night knowing just because a person skin color is different than yours determines they are going to accuse law enforcement of wrong doing..Oh, and isn’t the MALL ON THE “WEST SIDE” shouldn’t be too many blacks in that area.

      • I sleep just fine, thank you! I know for a fact that since the Justice Dept. ruling the police are not pulling people over at the same rate. I gave the mall area as a for instance. I am describing the entire AV. I have heard it from many who are tired of the bad, erratic driving. I have lived in the AV for 35 years and have seen it change for the worse. In the late 80s and early 90s, aerospace was hit with budget cuts that drove workers away, the prison was built that brought different type of people up here, and housing was cheap up here and advertised as such in LA, with billboards. The AV began to change. I know a Hispanic woman who quit working for the housing dept. because her life was being threatened on a daily basis (which is why the police escorted the housing people to homes). Another Hispanic friend working for DCFS transferred and left the area because she could no longer stand it. Everyone wants to be politically correct and not address the elephant in the room.

  14. Some streets speed limit 55 mph and varies around AV. Speed limits should be 40 mph all over city streets. Plus all these jaywalkers involved in hit and runs. Some drivers are back to excessive speeds, where did all the traffic officers go? Ok, let the critics go on this now.

    • “where did all the traffic officers go”

      They are occupying their time elsewhere until DUI Checkpoints =0/

      I’m just sayin

    • This accident had to do more with inattentive an driver then with speed really, though it might have been a factor. The driver drove around stopped vehicles, failing to yield for an emergency vehicle.

      Instead of blaming the lack of deputies, why not blame the people who are breaking the law?

  15. People use emergency vehicles approaching to jockey for position. More than once, I’ve tried to get over and can’t because the car in the next lane is insisting on matching speed or trying to get in front.

    Add to that, most people have no idea how islands factor into emergency vehicles. It’s a mess.

  16. I live in the area, AV Hospital, people need to be more aware that their are many emergency vehicles in this area since Palmdale Hospital closed their emergency services, AV hospital has been much busier. Even if I have a green light between 15th W, 10th W & Avenue J, I always approach these intersections alertly because there is often emergency vehicles. I have 2 small children & their safety is the utmost importance to me! Being a mother & recently pregnant their is no excuse for a mother to be to NOT be wearing her seat belt! I pray that her unborn child will be okay! IMO she does not deserve to have that baby, if she does not care to protect her unborn now, why will she care when it is born? DCS needs to be involved because this mother to be is negligent. Not only do people not stop for emergency vehicles in this valley they also use it as an opportunity to pass up those who do stop, many times when I pull to the right vehicles behind me don’t even give the common courtesy to allow my vehicle to safely re-emerge back into traffic lane. Living in the AV I can’t see why anyone is in such a hurry! Is there some where important to be out here that I’m not aware of? IMO speed limits need to be reduced all around this valley, too many accidents & too many pedestrians being hit & killed! Instead of 50+ speed limits our valley should lower to 35 mph because people out here can’t drive!

    • I’m glad to see I’m not the only one with issues returning to traffic after an emergency vehicle passes.

    • Since when has PRMC closed the emergency dept??? Most of the underinsured or none at all are sent to AVH.

    • I agree with Rebecca! I have experienced exactly what she is talking about many times. I see or hear a emergency vehicle and try to pull over, only to get cut off by some idiot who won’t let me. Then I can’t pull back out safely into traffic. Especially on Pear Blossom Hwy! There is no excuse for not having a seat belt on either! They need to be tougher on giving out drivers licenses, it seems lots of folks do not know what a turn signal is or the basic traffic rules of the road! They put other folks at danger every time they get behind the wheel of their car!

    • I was mis-informed about Palmdale closing the emergency services but regardless people need to be more alert when driving in hospital areas & just more alert in general.

    • Palmdale Hospital NEVER closed. Antelope Valley Hospital would be the closet hospital to be taken to. That’s how they do it. The reason AV hospital is busier is because they are bigger and 75% of the patients that come to the ER is bs anyway. They either are looking for pain killers or bring their children in when they have the sniffles. Those should be turned away. When their overflow gets so busy, the refuse any more people and then send them to Palmdale and we get stuck with treating them along with our own cases.
      This is the new society we live in. ME, Me, me! No one cares for anyone else and respect for law enforcement and emergeny personal have gone out the window. Welcome to the new world. She should be prosecuted. If it was her that those paramedics were rushing to save, she may have died as a result of someone being thoughtless and not understanding the concept of get out of friggin way!

    • How did they lie? I didnt see the full thing but i live right down the street and got home about an hour after. Looked as iff the Fire Truck hit them going at a high speed.

      • Really? I see a Toyota demolished on both sides and over a hundred feet from the point of impact. And a fire truck with a bent bumper that only moved a few feet. Please clarify how the fire truck could have been speeding instead of the car that bounced off a truck and then a power pole.

  18. Drivers do this all the time.They go around slow or stopped autos ,All the time .Quite a few years back i lost a wonderful young friend because the driver went around a stopped car while my friend was crossing the street in a marked cross walk .This is not new to this valley.But when they have all these companies out there that will go to court for you or get your tickets squashed for bad driving habits this will continue .People just wise the f–k up pay attention.God be with that unborn child and mother.

    • Out on the 138 in little rock I’ve seen one of the larger fire trucks going down the road lights and sirens and a car was right in front of it and just wouldn’t pull over they kept blowing the air horn. A lot of morons in the AV when it comes to driving.

  19. Drivers do this all the time.They go around slow or stopped autos ,All the time .Quite a few years back i lost a wonderful young friend because the driver went around a stopped car while my friend was crossing the street in a marked cross walk .This is not new to this valley.But when they have all these companies out there that will go to court for you or get your tickets squashed for bad driving habits this will continue .People just wise the f–k up pay attention.God be with that unborn child and mother.

  21. i try and pull over to the right and stop, but sometimes it’s unsafe to, so I try and pull over as best as I can, but I always stop.

  22. My car never moves unless every occupant is wearing a seatbelt. I thought this was just how it is done. Apparently not everyone is on the same page.

  23. I have been increasingly observing people simply stop in the traffic lane they are in when emergency vehicles approach, rather than pulling over to the right and stopping. People don’t respect the emergency vehicle drivers or the situation that has caused them to respond. Are they in that big of a hurry? Please, people pull over and stop!!

    • People need to pull over to the right hand portion of the roadway and stop. If they stop and don’t pull over they are violating the law. The other misperception is just because there is a island the public still needs to pull over on the other side of the roadway. Palmdale Motors use to follow the ambulances and fire trucks and enforce this all the time.

  24. Im not saying theyre stupid Im just saying they got bad luck when it comes to thinking.