Monterey Park fire engine crashes into building, injuring pedestrians, firefighters

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- Fifteen people were injured when two fire trucks collided, sending one into a Monterey Park restaurant Wednesday.

An Alhambra Fire Department truck collided with a Monterey Park fire engine, sending the fire engine into the Lu Dumpling House restaurant shortly after 3 p.m. at the intersection of Emerson and Garfield avenues, Monterey Park police said. Both trucks were responding to a house fire and had their lights and sirens on, investigators said.

Supporting beams in the building were knocked down, but workers were able to stabilize it before it could collapse. Much of the building was boarded up by Thursday morning.

All the businesses in the building on Thursday were closed, as authorities deemed the building unsafe. The sidewalk was also off limits.

"All the employees in the back, they felt like (it was) an earthquake. It was very scary," said Vivian Lu, who works at Lu's Dumpling House.

Authorities said 15 people were injured in total, including firefighters, pedestrians and restaurant patrons. Some patients were transported to Garfield Medical Center.

Ten patients were taken to the hospital: six firefighters and four civilians. One customer was pinned between the table and truck and taken to the hospital in critical condition. The other injuries were listed as minor to moderate.

There were no fatalities.

Multiple fire department vehicles, paramedics and police units were on scene to treat the injured and begin an investigation. A command post was set up on Emerson just west of Garfield. The trucks remained at the scene for several hours during the investigation.

The investigation into the cause of the crash and speed of the vehicles was ongoing.