A 28-year-old Fulton man was critically injured yesterday after the car he was driving crashed into the back of a Howard County fire engine.

The fire vehicle had slowed to avoid hitting debris on westbound Route 32 near Pindell School Road, county police said.

Investigators said they were investigating why Christopher Michael Peterson of the 6900 block of Pindell School Road failed to slow when the fire engine, driven by pump operator Mark McKinney, reduced speed.

The engine's emergency lights were on at the time of the collision.

Peterson was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was in critical condition yesterday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

All three firefighters on the engine -- McKinney, Lt. John Zimmerman and firefighter-paramedic Stacy Ruehl -- were taken to Howard County General Hospital for routine checkups.

The engine, which is assigned to Station 10 at Rivers Park, was westbound on Route 32 about 11:15 a.m. when the firefighters noticed large strips of rubber from a tractor-trailer tire in the road, police said.

McKinney was slowing in an attempt to stop so that firefighters could remove the debris when Peterson's Dodge Neon struck the engine, police said.

The accident is under investigation.