Two people critically injured when car slams into fire truck on Interstate 680

Two people were critically injured Saturday morning when their car slammed into a Contra Costa County Fire Protection District ladder truck, which was blocking traffic on Interstate 680 after an earlier wreck on the freeway.

Both people were riding in a Toyota Prius when it barreled into the ladder truck around 10 a.m. Saturday on I-680, near the Olympic Boulevard exit in Walnut Creek, said Joe Ottolini of the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

Four firefighters were in the ladder truck when it was hit, Ottolini said. None of them appeared to be injured immediately after the crash, he said, though all of them went to a hospital to be evaluated as a precaution.

Around 1000hr. Con Fire Truck 1 (T1) was blocking the # 1 lane for a Con Fire engine working a previous accident. T1 was struck by a vehicle. 4 ff’s from T1 being evaluated at hospital. Occupants of vehicle critically injured and transported to hospital. pic.twitter.com/4OJd2V3Lca

— Con Fire PIO (@ContraCostaFire) April 13, 2024

The ladder truck had been parked on the interstate to protect other firefighters who had responded to a call of a vehicle that had spun out on the roadway, Ottolini said. That previous crash resulted in few — if any — injuries.