Car slams into fire truck in Los Angeles, killing 2, sending 4 firefighters to hospital

A speeding car hit a Los Angeles Fire Department truck in Southern California on Tuesday, killing two people and sending four firefighters to a hospital, state officials said.

The fire truck was responding to a medical call just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday when a speeding blue Chrysler PT Cruiser slammed into it in the Los Angeles suburb of West Compton, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The area where is about 15 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Photos of the wreck show the PT Cruiser mangled almost beyond recognition, with its front end completely crumped.

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4 firefighters injured, two people killed

Four firefighters were taken to hospitals to be treated for minor injuries, according to a preliminary highway patrol report obtained by USA TODAY.

Two people inside the Chrysler, a 28-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Their identities were not released in the report, which shows that the man is from Signal Hill, a neighborhood northeast of Long Beach.

The collision caused damage to three other vehicles, two of which were unoccupied. No other injuries were reported.

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Cause of crash remains under investigation

Officer Luis Quintero, a spokesman for the highway patrol, said that troopers are investigating how fast each vehicle was traveling at the time of impact.

Troopers are also investigating whether street racing is connected to the crash.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the the highway patrol.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.