A Ventura County firefighter was hospitalized with major injuries after a driver allegedly drove through an emergency blockade and struck a fire engine on the 118 Freeway at Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley. The crash happened shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 27, 2026. CHP officers and firefighters were on scene investigating an earlier collision involving a wrong-way driver when the second crash occurred. Crashes like this show how dangerous freeway incident scenes can be, even with emergency vehicles positioned to protect responders.
According to ABC7 Los Angeles, the driver of a red Tesla blew through the blockade and struck both a Ventura County fire engine and a firefighter. ABC7 reports the Tesla driver was arrested, and the CHP did not release the firefighter’s condition, though the injury was described as major. The CHP said no foul play is suspected. Fire Apparatus Magazine, citing KTLA, separately reported that the engine struck was Engine 46 and that one firefighter was injured. Details may change as the investigation continues.
A series of crashes early Sunday, September 27, 2026, on State Route 118 near Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley left a Ventura County firefighter with significant injuries. Around 2:22 a.m., CHP officers and Ventura County firefighters responded to a collision involving a wrong-way driver in a red Tesla. While crews were still working the scene, another driver allegedly went past emergency flares at about 2:59 a.m. and struck a fire engine and the firefighter. A third driver allegedly crashed into the same scene at about 5:40 a.m.
CBS News reports that three people were arrested for DUI after the firefighter was significantly injured when struck by a car. KTLA reported that the firefighter was hospitalized, that the Tesla driver was also injured, and that all three arrests were on suspicion of DUI. A CHP officer said the agency continues to investigate the crashes. Anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
A Ventura County firefighter was seriously injured early Sunday, September 27, 2026, when a car allegedly drove past a flare-protected scene and struck the firefighter and a fire engine on the 118 Freeway near Tapo Canyon Road in Simi Valley. Firefighters and the California Highway Patrol were working an earlier collision when the second crash occurred at about 2:59 a.m. The firefighter was taken to a hospital with significant injuries. The driver was allegedly uninjured and was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
KCLU reported that the car broke through a roadblock set up at the original accident scene and hit both the fire truck and the firefighter, and that the CHP arrested the driver on suspicion of DUI. KTLA, in a report carried by Yahoo News, said the night began at 2:22 a.m. with a wrong-way driver in a Tesla colliding with four other vehicles, and that a third driver crashed into the same scene around 5:40 a.m. Three drivers were arrested on suspicion of DUI in total. The CHP is continuing to investigate.
