Accident in San Bernardino
Nine firefighters from the US Forest Service were discharged from the hospital on Monday following a weekend accident on Highway 38 in the San Bernardino Mountains involving a San Bernardino National Forest truck they were traveling in, authorities reported. The crash killed the driver of a vehicle that collided with the fire truck.
The accident occurred on Saturday, March 9 around 12:35 p.m. on Highway 38, south of Valley of the Falls Drive in Mountain Home Village.
A 38-year-old man from Riverside, later identified by coroner's officials as Douglas Grant Jr., was driving north in a 2022 Chevrolet at a speed greater than 45 mph and attempted to pass a driver of a Toyota pickup truck ahead of him by crossing the double yellow lines into the opposing lane, the California Highway Patrol said. News footage at the scene indicated the Chevrolet was a utility-type truck.
While in the opposing lane, Grant Jr.'s vehicle collided with a 2013 International 4400 fire truck, known as a crew carrier vehicle, traveling at about 55 mph, causing the fire truck driver to lose control, cross into the opposing lane, and overturn after colliding with the Toyota.
Despite being injured, the hotshot firefighters remained on scene and assisted after the accident, providing medical care to crew members and civilians, authorities said. The crew was returning to the Mill Creek Fire Station after working at a project site in the Front Country Ranger District of the forest, the San Bernardino National Forest said.
"The quick actions taken by the Mill Creek Hotshots crew members helped to mitigate the severity of existing injuries and prevent further loss of life," Front Country District Ranger Mike Nobles said in a statement.
Grant Jr. died from his injuries at the scene. Additional information was not available regarding the Toyota driver and whether they suffered any injuries.
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