LOST HILLS, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — UPDATE (7:18 p.m.):
The Kern County Fire Department said on Wednesday morning, two people were injured, leaving one with life-threatening injuries after the driver of a passenger van crashed into a semi-truck that was already on fire on Highway 46 in Lost Hills.
At around 8:17 a.m., firefighters responded to a report of a semi-truck fire on Highway 46 near Kecks Road. Upon arrival, they found a semi-truck fully engulfed and the fire had spread to around 1/4 of an acre of grass.
Firefighters acted quickly to check on the semi-truck driver, who was found to not be injured. Having confirmed that there was no threat to life, firefighters began to extinguish the spreading fire as more KCFD resources began arriving.
Shortly later, a van drove past the traffic cones and flashing emergency lights, and crashed into the fire, just as it was being controlled.
The passenger van with two people inside struck the semi-truck, careening into a parked KCFD fire engine on the side of the highway.
The KCFD Incident Commander immediately verified the safety of all the firefighters on scene, confirmed a new emergency, and requested a medevac helicopter to assist.
Firefighters who were previously working on the semi-truck fire quickly acted to assess the new emergency: To extricate the two people from a van now on its side.
A KCFD fire paramedic was used for advanced medical care (ALS) on one of the people in the van with life-threatening injuries.
The two people were taken to a nearby hospital; one by helicopter and the other by ground.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and stayed at the scene until it was fully extinguished.
The cause of the semi-truck fire is under investigation.