As The Mountain Enterprise was going to press last Wednesday, May 13 an ambulance was reported stolen, leaving paramedics standing in the middle of a dirt road in Frazier Park with their gurney. The report at first seemed madcap comedy, but within seconds it turned tragic—a double fatality crash near Flying J in Lebec. But why did it happen?

By Patric Hedlund with Gary Meyer

It looked like the aftermath of an ISIS attack. The front step to our Mountain Communities resembled an embattled Syrian city under siege.

The surveillance images of Frazier Mountain Park Road in front of Flying J on Wednesday, May 13 at 6:02 p.m. show how it happened. A five ton ambulance traveling at high speed exploded like a guided missile into a Freightliner tractor-trailer rig driven by Nelson Martinez of Los Angeles. The impact virtually vaporized the front of both vehicles and the lives within them.

TV news reports were sensational and riddled with errors. Ugly speculations poured into social media about the woman who had taken the truck. She was a mystery, living on North End Drive in Frazier Park for only a few months.

In the absence of facts, people on social media leapt to conclusions—with no proof—that she was a mad drug fiend run wild, or a suicidal maniac intent on taking someone out with her.

Some who witnessed the crash, and were the first to respond to render help, are still angry. Some think she could have planned it, faking a 911 call so she could steal an ambulance. We’ve discovered that the truth is more complex.

The Mountain Enterprise has worked to find the people who were with Kristina ‘Tina’ Foss Fort during the last hours of her life. Our goal is to put a human face on the tragedy and to answer the question: Why? Why did it happen? What led up to this?

The last hours

We spoke with the people, mostly strangers, who spent the last hours with Kristina Fort (known to her neighbor by her maiden name, Kristina ‘Tina’ Foss). We also talked with official sources, her oldest son, co-workers from 10 years ago and a close friend with whom we’ve met in person…..[Read more of this eye-opening 5,000 word Special Report and see all the photos in the newspaper May 22 issue (available at The Mountain Enterprise, or by subscribing to the eEdition].

Photo captions:

(l-r) Witness Charlotte Deese is still troubled by questions; Christopher Hardy wants to talk with the family; Erika and Cody Haas offered help to the Hall Ambulance paramedic and EMT after their truck was taken; and Kristina ‘Tina’ Foss Fort had been carving wind chimes to give to her mother.

On Saturday, May 16 members of Nelson Martinez’ family came to see where their brother, son, sweetheart, father and friend was killed. They built a small shrine next to the fence near the scene of the accident. Martinez’ sister spoke briefly with The Mountain Enterprise, about the family’s “burning pain for the loss of a very loving man.”

Rugged and steep North End Drive where the ambulance left at high speed.

Left: Christopher Hardy shows how the helpers were positioned around Tina Foss, trying to help as she went into seizures in front of her cottage.

A Hall Ambulance employee leaves the scene on May 13 where two people died, one in a Hall vehicle. A gurney awaits the coroner.

A 1999 snapshot of Kristina Fort when she was an EMT with Schaefer Ambulance Service in L.A. She moved to Arizona in 2005.

To see full stories with photos, please purchase a copy of the newspaper at many locations (click this link for a list) throughout the Mountain Communities.

Or, have your newspaper delivered via mail and include internet access! Just call 661-245-3794.

The e-Edition is available now with full photos and stories at The Mountain Enterprise e-Edition

(subscriber login required)

This is part of the May 22, 2015 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.