At the time, eight firefighters were returning from a 12-hour shift on the front lines of the massive Airport Fire when they were involved in a rollover crash in the Irvine area.
A vehicle ahead of the fire truck swerved to avoid a ladder and the truck swerved too, striking the guardrail on the right shoulder and overturning multiple times, according to the California Highway Patrol. Eight firefighters were injured in the incident.
8 OCFA firefighters injured as wildfire crew truck crashes on Irvine freeway
Out of the eight firefighters, two of them remain in the hospital and the other two have transitioned to rehabilitation facilities as of Thursday.
With fellow firefighters cheering him, Andrew Brown was wheeled out of Mission Hospital on Wednesday. That was followed by a large procession and fire crews escorted him to John Wayne Airport.
That's where he was loaded onto a medical transport plane for a flight to Colorado, where he will continue his recovery.