A Tesla Model 3 crash in Simi Valley left a firefighter seriously injured after a driver entered an emergency scene on westbound Highway 118.

The trouble began around 2:25 Sunday morning, when a Ford Bronco Sport traveling the wrong way struck a Honda CR-V head-on.

The California Highway Patrol said the Tesla crossed a pattern of road flares while officers investigated the first collision, hitting the firefighter and a fire truck.

The firefighter suffered serious injuries and was taken to a trauma center, a sobering outcome at a scene marked to protect responders.

A 30-year-old Saratoga man driving the Tesla was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury.

Authorities also arrested the Bronco driver, a 24-year-old Minnesota man, on suspicion of driving under the influence following the wrong-way collision.

He reported injuries and went to a hospital, while the Honda driver was not injured.

The danger did not end there: As officers finished their work, another vehicle crossed the flare pattern.

Its driver, a 64-year-old Simi Valley man, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Three drivers faced suspected impaired-driving allegations after the same sequence of crashes, an unsettling development for anyone who relies on Highway 118.

Three westbound lanes were closed for about four hours while crews handled the collisions and investigated the scene.

The account did not establish whether the Tesla was using an automated driving feature when it struck the firefighter.

That distinction matters, but the immediate safety concern is plain: Road flares did not prevent vehicles from entering a hazardous work area.

Federal investigators have examined other crashes involving Teslas and stationary emergency vehicles, including nighttime incidents where warning equipment was deployed.

Those separate cases do not establish what happened in Simi Valley or whether driving assistance was in use during this crash.

For local firefighters, Highway 118 is more than a commuter route; it is also a workplace where passing drivers can change everything in seconds.