PHOENIX --
The family of a Phoenix fire captain says her prognosis is good after she was critically injured in an 11-car crash.
Crystal Rezzonico, who was aboard Engine 910, was ejected from the vehicle that was responding to an emergency call. Ten people were injured.
The fire engine was passing through the intersection at Interstate 17 and Dunlap Avenue Monday at about 6 p.m. when a sedan crashed into the side of the emergency vehicle.
The 23-year-old driver of the vehicle that struck the fire engine was also hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Witnesses said the engine did have its lights and sirens activated.
"This could have been avoided if people paid attention to what they were doing," said Robert Candeleria, who was behind the wheel of one of the eight cars that was ultimately involved in the crash.
Candeleria also said that he was the one who first noticed the captain had been ejected from the truck. He said he alerted other firefighters immediately.
"She was face down, she was unconscious and there was a little bit of blood. I didn't see it until they rolled her over," he said.
Police investigators at the scene could not immediately determine if the captain was wearing a seat belt inside the fire engine.
Rezzonico began her career with the Phoenix Fire Department as a rescruit in March 1991. She was hired as a firefighter in June 1991. She was promoted to captain in 2006.
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