A late night of brush clearance for nine U.S. Forest Service firefighters led to an early morning wake-up call for crash scene investigators.
Monday night, the firefighters were out working on brush clearance in the Littlerock area of the Antelope Valley near Palmdale. On their way back to their station, the driver of the US Forest truck lost control and ran over an embankment.
The truck rolled 10 to 15 feet down a ravine.
"Three of our firefighters were airlifted out with moderate injuries," Nathan Judy, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service said. "The other six were taken by ambulance."
The official cause of why the driver lost control has not been determined. The California Highway Patrol is investigating that part of the crash and says preliminary reports point to an animal in the roadway. CHP says the 29-year-old driver swerved to avoid the animal and lost control of the truck.
Crash investigators are expected to be on the scene Tuesday morning.
The crash occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Monday on Mount Emma Road east of Cheseboro Road, California Highway Patrol Officer Krystal Carter said.
