A San Diego battalion chief who crashed a fire department pickup on an east Texas freeway last month, leaving himself and two colleagues injured, may have fallen asleep while driving, according to a Texas law enforcement crash report.
The three were part of a 48-member team that had been heading to assist in hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina.
The report, released by the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Aide Barbat was driving east on Interstate 20 shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 29 in the fast lane when he drifted into the center median, overcorrected and steered to the right and ran up an embankment. The Ford F-350 then rolled over numerous times before coming to rest facing northeast in the roadway at the bottom of the embankment, the report said.
A front passenger, identified as Capt. Greg Davies, got out of the truck and attempted to alert drivers that the disabled vehicle was in the roadway. Minutes later, however, the truck was hit by another vehicle with Barbat and Capt. Jesse Schultz, a rear-seat passenger, still inside, the report said.
“The rear passenger stated that the driver… may have fallen asleep,” the report said. “The right front passenger stated that (the driver) ran off of the road.”
According to the report, drug or alcohol use was not suspected. It was unclear if anyone in the second vehicle was injured.
The crash occurred near the border with Louisiana, and all three were transported to a hospital in Shreveport.
San Diego Fire-Rescue officials initially had reported that the crash occurred around 2:45 a.m. and that all three were transported by helicopter. The Texas crash report said one person was transported by Life Air Rescue and two were taken by ambulance.
The team had planned to do water rescue-type work and provide other assistance in Charlotte, N.C. After the crash, the remaining members — which include firefighters from San Diego and other local agencies, emergency-room doctors, a structural engineer and a mechanic — returned to San Diego after staying several days in Texas.
Davies, 51, returned Oct. 4 after being released from the hospital and is recuperating at home, said a fire department spokesperson. Schultz, 49, returned on Oct. 7 and has since been sent to an out-of-state facility to continue his recovery. Barbat, 45, returned Oct. 11 and was being treated at UCSD, the spokesperson said.
“The Davies, Schultz and Barbat families sincerely appreciate all the love, support and kind words of encouragement. They ask for continued privacy as they navigate what may be long roads to recovery,” the department said in a recent Facebook post.