4 Houston firefighters hospitalized after big rig slams into their engine

(NEW YORK) — Four Texas firefighters were injured early Sunday when an 18-wheeler slammed into their fire engine as they were blocking traffic to a freeway entrance following a car crash, authorities said.

The incident unfolded around 2 a.m. in north Houston, according to the Houston Fire Department.

The injured firefighters were taken by ambulance to a hospital, officials said.

“We are asking for prayers for our four injured firefighters,” Patrick M. “Marty” Lancton, president of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, said in a social media post.

The fire crew had responded to a traffic accident on the Eastex Freeway and was blocking the entrance to the freeway at Northpark Drive with a Houston Fire Department pumper engine when they were hit by the big rig, authorities s