Radio traffic from head-on crash involving Kern County, California Truck 41. Two civilians killed.
Above is the audio from Thursday night’s incident in Kern County, California where a car drove head-on into Truck 41. Here are more details from from FirefighterCloseCalls.com:
At 20:02 hours last night, the Kern County (CA) Fire Department responded to a vehicle crash involving one of Kern County Fire Department’s own ladder trucks. An additional 17 Kern County firefighters responded to the incident. The crew of Truck 41 from Virginia Colony provided immediate assistance to the victims of their accident.
Upon arrival, additional crews were faced with a vehicle that had struck the ladder truck head on while traveling on Hwy 178. The ladder truck, which is based in east Bakersfield was returning from a previous incident in Kern Canyon heading west bound when the crash occurred. Two persons in the car were declared deceased by Paramedics on scene. No injuries were sustained to the Firefighters in the ladder truck.
The reason the Honda Civic carrying Melissa Hope Aguinaga, 36, and Arthur Alvarez Aguinaga, 35, entered the fire truck’s path is not yet known, Bakersfield police Detective Blaine Craig said. The BPD is investigating the crash.
Craig said there was no immediate evidence that alcohol was involved. Autopsies and toxicology reports will be performed, and investigators will examine the car to see if it was functioning properly.
The Aguinagas were driving eastbound on Highway 178 just east of Rancheria Road when they hit a Kern County Fire Department ladder truck at 8:02 p.m. Thursday, according to a coroner’s office news release. The Aguinagas died at the scene. No firefighters were injured.
Firefighter Darin Griffin, 39, the driver of the truck, and Capt. Gilbert Tinoco, 49, would not be commenting on the crash, Fire Capt. Brandon Smith said.
