Crash Into Calif. Fire Station Under Investigation

April 11--Typically, Windsor firefighters must drive to reach the site of a car crash. But on Tuesday, the crash came to them when a driver lost control on a wet road and smashed into a fire station.

The impact crumpled the car and caused minor damage to the Old Redwood Highway station. The 20-year-old driver wasn't injured.

But the impact rattled employees inside and two firefighters working nearby who were nearly hit by the SUV.

"One guy ... he saw it and started to back up. I looked up, 'oh oh' and wham, it was just that fast," said Capt. Dean Crothers.

"The headlight glass, plastic pieces, came flying past us," Crothers said.

The mishap occurred at about 2 p.m. when driver Sebastian Thomas started making a left turn onto Hembree Lane from southbound Old Redwood Highway.

He apparently was going too fast for the rainy, wet road and lost traction, said Windsor police Sgt. Rob Gordon.

The 1993 Toyota 4Runner ran off the road and onto the corner property. Firefighters said the driver still was pressing on the gas as the vehicle crossed the station's driveway.

The SUV collided hard with a decorative red metal pole and then the building, striking it between two engine bay doors.

The vehicle narrowly missed the two firefighters, who had been working about four feet away at the front of an open bay, said Crothers.

Firefighters then responded to the crash.

"The first thing was to make sure he was OK," said Crothers. "He was belted in."

Gordon said the crash remained under investigation.

Copyright 2012 - The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif.