Vehicle Strikes Firetruck in Intersection

A city firetruck racing to a rush-hour crash in northern Oxnard on Wednesday was struck by a vehicle whose driver failed to stop at an intersection, authorities said.

Firefighter Alberto Rivera was driving the emergency truck from Oxnard Station 1 when the collision occurred at 5 p.m. at Gonzales Road and H Street, Battalion Chief Terry McAnally said.

The firetruck was struck by a vehicle driven by Glen Blevins, 43, of Oxnard, authorities said.

Neither driver was injured.

After the initial collision, authorities said Blevins’ vehicle struck and disabled a traffic signal in the center divider. There were major traffic backups in all directions and the congestion caused two additional fender benders, police said.

Rivera, 45, of Oxnard has been with the department more than 10 years, McAnally said. He remained on duty Wednesday night and no disciplinary measures were expected, Station 1 Capt. Rod Thorp said.

“It’s up to the police to investigate the accident. We were very lucky no one was hurt,” Thorp said.

At the time of the collision, Rivera had the truck’s lights and siren activated and was responding to a report of a car that struck a pedestrian near Vineyard Avenue and Oxnard Boulevard, McAnally said.

A short time later, the emergency response on the original call on Vineyard Avenue was canceled, indicating there were no injuries, McAnally said.