2015 A Cal Fire battalion chief was hospitalized after being hit by a vehicle while helping a stranded motorist near Temecula, fire officials say. Battalion Chief Casey Hartman came across a stranded motorist about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, along Borel Road near Warren Road, CHP officials said.
The vehicle was partially blocking the eastbound lane, so the battalion chief positioned his marked Cal Fire pickup truck behind the vehicle and activated the amber warning lights, CHP officials said in a news release. As the battalion chief was helping the person, 36-year-old Nuevo resident Ciria Flores was driving westbound on Borel at an unsafe speed in the rain. As she approached the scene, she lost control of her vehicle and smashed into Hartman’s truck, the release said.
The truck skid into Hartman, knocking him to the ground and injuring his leg. Flores’ vehicle then spun out of control and went into a ditch, officials said. Paramedics took Hartman to a hospital with moderate injuries. The stranded motorist and Flores were uninjured.