Seven people, including one LAFD firefighter, were injured Sunday afternoon when an LAFD fire truck and engine were involved in a traffic accident with three other vehicles in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles, with one victim requiring extrication from a vehicle at the scene. The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. on the 11900 block of South Figueroa Street.
According to CBS Los Angeles, LAFD officials confirmed the crash details in a news release, saying all seven victims were assessed at the scene before being transported to local hospitals. Their conditions were not immediately known, per the same report. The Los Angeles Police Department has opened an investigation into the cause of the collision, and LAFD requested assistance from the city's Department of Transportation to manage traffic control in the area.
A Corridor With a Dangerous History
The crash site sits along a stretch of South Los Angeles roadway that traffic safety analysts have flagged before. The nearby intersection of Manchester Avenue and Figueroa Street in Vermont Knolls has been identified as one of the 10 most dangerous intersections in Los Angeles, according to a Dordulian Law Group analysis, underscoring how South Los Angeles's high-volume corridors have long carried disproportionate collision risk.
Sunday's collision adds to a string of recent LAFD apparatus crashes across the city. Just days earlier, an LAFD ambulance was involved in a traffic collision in Boyle Heights. In May, the article also mentions an LAFD fire-engine incident in Sunland, although the available accounts do not establish the details. And in April, the article references an incident involving an LAFD engine on the eastbound I-10 Freeway, but available accounts do not establish the details.
The Legal Standard for Emergency Vehicles
Under California Vehicle Code Sections 21055 and 21056, emergency vehicles are exempted from standard traffic laws while responding to calls, but drivers are still required to operate with what the law calls due regard for public safety, according to the Scranton Law Firm. That standard has proven costly for the city before: in August, a Los Angeles jury awarded $28 million to a motorcyclist who lost part of his leg after colliding with an LAFD fire truck, following allegations the apparatus failed to stop before entering a busy intersection, per FireRescue1.
Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 21806 requires motorists to yield the right-of-way and pull over when an emergency vehicle approaches with lights and siren active, according to Cron Israels & Stark. Available sources mention a Los Angeles Police Department document concerning Code-Three responses with lights and sirens, but do not establish specific Police Commission guidelines or a balancing requirement. It remains unresolved whether either vehicle was operating in Code-Three status at the time of Sunday's crash, or how right-of-way factored into the collision.
The Financial Stakes for the City
Beyond the human toll, apparatus crashes carry steep financial consequences for Los Angeles. New fire engines now cost more than $1 million and ladder trucks exceed $2 million, according to 2025 fleet data cited by Work Zone Barriers. Under the California Government Claims Act, anyone seeking damages from a collision involving a city-owned emergency vehicle must file a formal administrative claim within six months, according to the Scranton Law Firm.
No further details on the cause of Sunday's crash have been released, and LAPD's investigation is ongoing.
