Calif. Firefighter Battling Blaze Struck by Vehicle

MURPHYS, Calif. -- A Modesto firefighter was hospitalized with severe injuries after being struck by a passing car Wednesday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The 39-year-old firefighter was combating flames on Sunk Ranch Road east of Ponderosa Road about 4:20 p.m. when a car traveling about 30 mph struck him, according to the CHP.

The driver, a 34-year-old Murphys woman, did not see the firefighter because of heavy smoke due to the rapidly burning forest fire, officers said.

The victim was standing beside a Cal Fire engine parked perpendicular across the roadway with its emergency lights on at the time of the collision, according to the CHP. He was airlifted to a hospital.

The woman's car broad-sided the fire engine after striking the firefighter, officers said. She did not sustain any injuries, they added.

Copyright 2012 - The Record, Stockton, Calif.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service