“The Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond’s nephew is in critical condition after an accident at the Drummond family farm in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on Wednesday.
Two fire trucks crashed head-on, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol accident report, and one of the drivers, 21-year-old Caleb G. Drummond, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The report said he had injuries to “the head, inner torso, arm and leg.”
The other driver, Ree’s husband, Ladd Drummond, dispensed with treatment at the scene, according to the OHP.
Jerry Roberts, the director of Osage County Emergency Management, said TODAY that Drummond’s nephew was alert when he was taken to the hospital.
“When they went out with him, he was talking to me, which is a good sign,” said Roberts. “He never opened his eyes or anything, but he was talking.”
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Roberts explained that the two were driving their own fire trucks to fight an 800 to 900-acre forest fire on their property, along with other farmers and volunteer firefighters helping to put out the fire. He said it was not clear what caused the accident, but it happened after the fire was contained and they were preparing to leave.
He added that the OHP is investigating what caused the wreckage, but his team will return to the property on Thursday to investigate what caused the fire. Roberts said it was the normal fire season, but things have been very busy in recent days because of drought conditions and strong winds.
“Today, it is just one after the other,” he said, adding that his department had seen six fires on Wednesday. “We didn’t even finish with one before there was another coming.”