Firefighters hurt in crash near Clovis released from hospital

Three days after five firefighters were injured when a U.S. Forest Service fire truck crashed on Highway 168 east of Clovis, all of them are finally out of the hospital.

“The fact that they’re going home is pretty huge,” said Iveth Hernandez, public affairs assistant for the Sierra National Forest, who described the accident as “a major incident.”

Three of the firefighters were released from the hospital after the accident on Sunday. One was released on Monday while the remaining two were released Wednesday.

Hernandez said that the findings of an investigation into the crash will influence the way the Forest Service approaches safety in the future.

The accident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday when a Kia Sorento driven by 53-year-old Maria E. Constable of Fresno tried to pass the truck on the right and ran her drivers side door into the right front wheel of the fire truck, forcing it off the roadway. It rolled four times before coming to rest in a field. The truck was going 55 mph at the time.

Constable also lost control. Her car rolled twice before landing on its roof. She suffered minor injuries and was not taken to the hospital.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Axel Reyes said the incident was still under investigation. He said he did not know whether the investigation will result in any charges.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Firefighters hurt in crash near Clovis released from hospital."