An Orange County Fire Authority truck slammed into a massive tree Wednesday evening in a crash that was apparently powerful enough to sever the emergency vehicle's engine.
Four firefighters were transported to the hospital, officials said. They were responding to a medical call at the time of the crash.
A spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority said the responders' injuries were non-life threatening.
The truck hit the tree with such force, that the top half of the pine was knocked off, and the right half of the truck's back portion appeared to have broken off from the rest of the apparatus (pictured below).
The cause of the crash is under investigation, and officials said no other vehicles were involved.
A resident who witnessed the crash and did not want to be identified said the engineer appeared to lose control while trying to make a sharp turn.
Capt. Marc Stone, with OC Fire Authority, said most of the department's fleet are governed, meaning "you can press down on the gas all you want, but they're only going to go a certain speed."
Most of the OCFA engines are governed between 60 and 65 miles per hour, Stone said.
The collision happened about 7 p.m. near Crescent Avenue and Los Altos Drive in Buena Park (map).
Ladders and fire-fighting gear were strewn across the roadway. Aerial footage showed the truck almost entirely on a roadway median, leaning against a gnarled tree.
