AKIPRESS.COM - Two firetrucks heading to a burning home collided Wednesday in a Los Angeles suburb, sending one careening into a restaurant and injuring 15 people, including at least five firefighters, the U.S. media reported.

One of the victims was in critical condition, officials said. The crash on a busy commercial strip in Monterey Park left one truck embedded in the restaurant, with shattered glass and rubble heaped on the sidewalk.

One of the waitresses said she saw a refrigerator pushed across the room and furniture in disarray. She said several injured people were bleeding and attempting to stand.

Monterey Park Fire Chief Jim Birrell said trucks from the city and neighboring Alhambra were responding to a house fire shortly after 3 p.m. when they slammed into each other and one truck plowed into the restaurant.

Rosa Saca, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, said nine victims were brought there, including the five firefighters. The critically injured person was among the hospital's patients but is not one of the firefighters, she said.

An investigation was underway to determine what caused the crash, the StarTribune reported.