Memorial Presentation This Weekend for Fallen Firefighter Christopher Douglas

A local motorcycle group will present a plaque and an orange tree this weekend to the colleagues of Riverside County firefighter Christopher Douglas, fatally struck by a pickup truck on Interstate 10 in Thousand Palms about a year ago.

The presentation will be made by the Desert Riders Association at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Roy Wilson Fire Station in Thousand Palms, where Douglas had been stationed.

The tree will be planted as a living memorial behind the firehouse, and the plaque will hang inside the station, Desert Riders spokeswoman Kristy Kneiding said.  Oranges were Douglas' favorite fruit.

The 41-year-old Temecula resident, was struck last July 5 by a Ford F-150 on the shoulder of eastbound I-10 at the Monterey Avenue onramp, where his engine truck stopped so firefighters could put on their gear, California Highway Patrol Officer Stephanie Hamilton said.

Douglas -- an apparatus engineer and paramedic who had been with the Riverside County Fire Department for eight years -- was driving the engine and was hit by the pickup when he got out of the rig. He and his crew were responding to a rollover crash on I-10 near Washington Street, Hamilton said.

The Desert Riders Association is a social riding club that raises money for charitable causes.

– City News Service.