Kern Fire Truck Kills Woman Near Lancaster

A Kern County fire engine en route to a brush fire collided head-on with a car north of Lancaster Tuesday, killing the driver of the auto and injuring two firefighters on the truck, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

A woman approximately 45 years old, whose name was withheld until relatives could be notified, died instantly in the 6 p.m. crash at Sierra Highway and Avenue D, Fire Capt. William Blackburn said.

The two firefighters, whose names also were not available, were taken to Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center with moderate injuries, he said. A hospital nursing supervisor said they were in stable condition and were being evaluated to determine whether they should be admitted.

Details of the accident were not immediately available. The fire truck was headed for Edwards Air Force Base where a small grass fire had been reported a short time earlier, Blackburn said. The truck had been dispatched to the Los Angeles County facility under an inter-jurisdictional response program, he said.

The grass fire caused no structural damage and was extinguished later by other engine companies, Blackburn said.