Thousands of bees swarm Irvine vehicle crash as pair tries to help trapped driver
Anything that could go wrong did go wrong Monday when a pickup crashed into a light pole in Irvine, overturned and sent thousands of bees buzzing around bystanders who were trying to help the trapped driver.
Two people were stung a few times by bees about 10:30 a.m. while trying to help rescue the driver from his overturned pickup truck on southbound California State Route 261, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.
According to the California Highway Patrol, a tire on the driver’s pickup truck may have blown out, causing him to lose control. The truck rolled onto the shoulder and crashed into a light pole near Irvine Boulevard.
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As the pole came crashing down, a beehive tore open and thousands of bees swarmed the area.
Unaware of the bees, a man and woman driving past stopped to help. But the pair was stung.
If that wasn’t frightening enough, Concialdi said, the impact of the crash left live wire exposed.
Donning bee-proof veils, firefighters carefully sprayed water and foam on the bees to slow them down and keep them away from the area.
The combination of foam and water worked and the bees backed off, allowing firefighters to cut the driver out of his pickup truck.
The driver suffered a head injury and was taken to a hospital, he said.
As for the two good Samaritans, firefighters used credit cards to get the stingers out of their skin. They were treated and released at the scene.
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