2 critically injured, trapped after pickup truck slams into LAFD ambulance in Pacoima

PACOIMA, LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Two men inside a pick-up truck suffered critical injuries when their vehicle broadsided a Los Angeles Fire Department rescue ambulance Sunday morning at an intersection in Pacoima, authorities said.

The two paramedics inside the rescue ambulance suffered minor to moderate injuries and were transported to a hospital in fair condition. The injuries were not considered life threatening, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
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Firefighters and paramedics were dispatched at 12:35 a.m. to Van Nuys Boulevard and San Fernando Road.

The pickup truck struck a nearby utility pole, after crashing into the rescue ambulance, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The two adult male occupants of the full size pickup truck were badly trapped in the wreckage of their severely damaged truck before being freed by a team of LAFD responders," Humphrey said. Both male civilians were transported to a regional trauma center in critical condition.
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.The two male LAFD paramedics were able to self-extricate from the wreckage of their Type I ambulance, sustaining minor to moderate injuries," he said. Both LAFD paramedics were taken to an area hospital in fair condition for treatment of injuries that are not considered life threatening."

No other injuries were reported and the initial medical emergency that the paramedic team was headed to was quickly handled successfully by another LAFD crew, he said.