Truck slams into pickup filled with tailgaters; 5 are injured
Five people were injured, two of them critically, Sunday night after a crash in which a pickup truck ran into a group of tailgaters and their pickup, which had been parked in a popular desert area where off-roaders are known to hang out.
The crash happened at 9:15 p.m. in the area south of County 19th and Avenue D, according to information provided by Capt. Javier Hernandez, with firefighters from the Somerton Cocopah Fire Department responding to the location for a report of a vehicle vs. pedestrian accident involving multiple patients.
Once on scene, firefighters had to stop on the side of the road on County 19th because the fire engine and ambulance could not get to the area in the desert where the crash happened.
An off-road pickup truck that was in the area took EMS personnel with their equipment to the scene of the accident.
Upon arrival at the site of the accident,
SCFD paramedics determined that there were a total of 5 patients, two critical and three stable.
All of the patients had been brought by off-road pickups to the staging area so that paramedics could start treating, packaging and preparing for transport.
The most critical of the patients was a 25-year-old male who had a severe avulsion injury to his thigh on his right leg. Another 24-year-old male had a broken left leg. A 20-year-old female was complaining of pain to her legs, while another female, who was also in her 20s, was complaining of pain to her lower back.
According to Capt. Hernandez, “all of the patients could have had internal injuries due to being struck by a vehicle.”
The last of the patients was another male, who is also in his 20s, who was complaining of pain to his rib cage and minor difficulty breathing. He refused treatment at the scene. He told paramedics that he would go to the hospital on his own.
A witness at the scene stated that all the patients were tailgating in a parked pickup to the side of the area used for racing when another pickup truck, which was traveling at a high rate of speed, struck the parked pickup.
All of the patients were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center by Somerton Cocopah ambulance, Rural Metro ambulance, and two San Luis Fire Department ambulances.
The Marine Corps Air Station Yuma Fire Department backfilled the Somerton Cocopah station during the incident.
The Yuma County Sheriff Office is also investigating the accident.