Upland Firefighter’s Condition Improves

An Upland firefighter injured when his fire engine collided with a tour bus on the San Bernardino Freeway was upgraded to serious condition Wednesday after undergoing nearly six hours of surgery, medical authorities said.

Tom Barilla, 40, sustained “significant head trauma” in Tuesday’s collision and underwent a procedure that was similar to operations designed to relieve pressure on the brain, said Dr. Dev A. Gnanadev, medical director of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where Barilla is hospitalized.

“It was a pretty dramatic injury, but it’s a correctable injury,” Gnanadev said.

Barilla also suffered chest and abdominal injuries when his Upland Fire Department engine collided with the bus loaded with 58 mostly senior citizens who were headed to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio. The bus had picked up passengers in Los Angeles’ Chinatown and the San Gabriel Valley.

One bus passenger, Kau Leung, a 75-year-old retired chef from Rosemead, was killed.

A 70-year-old passenger, who was not identified by hospital authorities, was upgraded to stable condition Wednesday after undergoing surgery for fractures, including in the leg, Gnanadev said.

Barilla, Upland’s Firefighter of the Year in 2004, has been able to communicate only minimally with his family and hospital personnel.

“Simple things,” said Mike Barilla, his brother. “A thumb’s-up ... he’s squeezed my hand ... he’s opened an eye once or twice on command. It’s not that he knows me, but it’s a command he can follow.”

California Highway Patrol officials said the investigation was ongoing. Of the 58 bus passengers, 54 were taken to hospitals. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries.

Barilla was driving the fire engine, which was responding to an earlier accident on the other side of the freeway. The engine was merging into the carpool lane with it collided with the bus, CHP officials said.

“I explained to [Tom] what had happened, that the other members of the crew were OK and that everyone was praying for him,” Mike Barilla said. “He squeezed my hand.”

The family is asking the public to donate blood to the San Bernardino Blood Bank at (909) 885-6503 or the Riverside County Blood Bank at (951) 687-2530.