PAYNE COUNTY, Okla. (KOKH) — Two firefighters were injured Thursday afternoon following a tanker crash on State Highway 51 while returning from a grass fire.
The Ingalls Fire Department (IFD) reported that the incident occurred when the tanker's front tire failed, causing it to veer off the road, roll multiple times, and land in a wooded area. Both firefighters were trapped inside the vehicle.
Good Samaritans assisted in freeing one firefighter, while the Stillwater Fire Department successfully extracted the other. One firefighter was airlifted and the other was transported by ambulance to a Level 1 trauma center in Tulsa.
According to IFD, the injured firefighters are identified as Lieutenant Joshua Contreras and firefighter Jace Wilson. Contreras sustained a broken neck and multiple fractures in his back and remains hospitalized at St. John's Hospital in Tulsa. He is reported to be stable.
Wilson has been released after evaluation by medical staff. He is an aviation student at Oklahoma State University and joined the department this past year.
IFD praised both firefighters for their service, stating, “We are grateful to see him home and ask the community to keep them in their thoughts and prayers as they recover.”
The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.