Fiery Vallejo crash leaves victim critically injured; firefighters hurt

A collision between a car and a city maintenance truck on Wednesday morning in Vallejo injured two people, including one who was in critical condition, and two firefighters were injured while rescuing the victim from their car, according to fire officials.

Around 8:35 a.m., first responders were alerted to a report of a car on fire at the intersection of Curtola Parkway and Solano Avenue.

Upon arrival, they found a two-door sedan and a City of Vallejo Corporation Yard maintenance truck in a rear-end collision with significant damage, and the car in flames, the Vallejo Fire Department said.

Police officers used fire extinguishers from their vehicles to try to control the blaze while firefighters, who had just come from working on a vegetation fire, arrived and immediately approached the burning vehicle. They found a single occupant in the driver's seat and performed an emergency rescue through the driver's side window.

The occupant, who was in critical condition, was sent to a nearby trauma center. Fire officials said that paramedics administered tranexamic acid medication to control blood loss and performed a needle decompression procedure to sustain the patient until they reached the emergency room.

An occupant from the other vehicle was sent to a hospital with minor injuries.

During the rescue, two firefighters suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to fire officials.