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There were a total of 41 ambulance accidents reported on EMSResponder.com from June 2006 through April 2007. These accidents resulted in a total of five reported deaths and at least 43 injuries to EMS responders. While this summary does not encompass every accident that occurred during this time period, as not all accidents were covered by local media, it does offer a snapshot of the most serious incidents. This summary includes only ground ambulance crashes in the U.S., and does not include accidents involving personal vehicles of EMS personnel, other rescue apparatus, or air ambulance crashes.
JUNE 2006
Five accidents were reported in June, although this includes one extraordinary incident in which an ambulance was purposely pulled into traffic to act as a shield between a man thrown from his vehicle and oncoming traffic, including the man's own driverless vehicle as it moved toward him.
Florida Ambulance Shields Man from Unmanned Truck: The shielding maneuver was performed by Pasco County Fire Rescue 19.
San Diego Ambulance Crashes, Overturns on Roadway: No injuries were reported in this accident.
Philadelphia Ambulance Involved in Chain-Reaction Crash: A pedestrian took the brunt of this crash. The driver went through a red light and hit an elderly man, who was hospitalized in critical condition. The ambulance crew was being checked for injuries.
Baltimore Ambulance and Car Crash: The ambulance was in service and had its lights and siren on. A woman was rescued from the vehicle involved.
Kentucky Crash Involves Ambulance: An SUV driver ran a red light and slammed into the ambulance, which had lights and siren going at the time of the crash. No patients were in the ambulance. Two EMS workers and the driver of the SUV were injured.
JULY 2006
Two accidents occurred when drivers crashed into ambulances in Ohio and Iowa.
Ohio Medics Hurt When Driver Crashes Into Ambulance: Two Columbus medics were rushed to a hospital after their ambulance was hit by a car. Police said a driver traveling on the ramp crashed into the back of the ambulance. Both victims suffered minor injuries.
Car Hits Iowa Ambulance: Everyone involved suffered minor injuries, including the patient.
AUGUST 2006
Five incidents were reported this month, including one responsible for the death of a pedestrian.
New Jersey Woman Killed by Ambulance: An ambulance accidentally struck and killed a woman in the parking lot of a Cherry Hill, NJ, medical center.
Honolulu Ambulance Collides with Car: Three Honolulu EMS paramedics became patients themselves after their rig collided with a car.
Florida Ambulance Runs Light, Slams Into SUV: The ambulance did not have its lights or siren on because it was a non-emergency transport.
Alabama Ambulance En Route to Hospital Hit by Car: No one was injured in the collision.
Driver Crashes into Orange County, FL, Ambulance: One person was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, in another ambulance, with non-life-threatening injuries.
SEPTEMBER 2006
Four ambulance crashes were reported in September, including one that killed a Texas paramedic.
Central Texas Paramedic Dies in Crash: East Texas Medical Center paramedic supervisor Joe Alvarez, Jr. died when the ambulance he was driving slammed into the rear of a street sweeper. It does not appear that he was responding to a call.
Chicago Ambulance Rolls Over, Hits Pole: A motorist was cited in connection with a traffic accident that caused an ambulance carrying a teenage patient with its lights and siren on to flip over and plow into a traffic pole. Several injuries were reported, including two paramedics and a police officer.
Georgia Bus, Ambulance Collide: Both drivers suffered minor injuries in the accident, which caused the ambulance to topple over. The most serious injury appeared to be to a paramedic who was in the back of the ambulance at the time of the crash and was airlifted to an area hospital.
Man Killed in South Carolina Truck-Ambulance Crash: The wreck left one man dead and three people seriously injured.
OCTOBER 2006
An EMT was killed in one of the seven major accidents reported this month.
Texas EMT Killed in Ambulance Crash: The drivers of an ambulance and a pickup truck were fatally injured Tuesday when the two vehicles collided on a rain-slicked road near Austin. Kyla Wilson, 29, a paramedic with Marble Falls EMS, was in critical condition. Her partner, Eric Hanson, 26, did not survive.
Kentucky Ambulance Crashes into Building: Three people were rushed to the hospital after a crash involving an ambulance and a car in Louisville. Two of the victims had minor injuries. However, the driver of the car suffered life-threatening injuries.
Three Injured When SUV Hits New York Ambulance: The responders onboard the ambulance were treated for head injuries, and the driver of the SUV suffered upper body injuries.
New York Ambulance Crew Hurt in Crash: Two McFee Ambulance employees suffered non-life-threatening injuries while returning from a call.
Driver Hits Pennsylvania Ambulance, Is Charged with DUI: The driver of the ambulance was treated for a neck injury, and a passenger in the back of the ambulance had minor injuries.
Ohio Ambulance Transporting Patient Crashes: Two paramedics, a nurse and a patient were inside the ambulance and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Driver of SUV That Collided with Pennsylvania Ambulance Dies: The driver of a sport utility vehicle that collided with an ambulance in Hempfield Township later died. Officials said the driver of the Ford Bronco had the right of way.
NOVEMBER 2006
Three crashes made the news.
Brooklyn Ambulance Accident Injures Five: The driver of the ambulance had to be cut out of the cab. The ambulance crew and several civilians were transported with back and neck injuries. One person was reported to have a serious head injury.
Florida Ambulance Crashes: After being cut off, the ambulance hit a wall and three other vehicles. No injuries were reported.
New York Ambulance and Tractor-Trailer Collide: Two EMS workers sustained minor neck and back injuries.
DECEMBER 2006
Three accidents were reported in December, including two at the same department.
D.C. Ambulance Involved in Accident: Three people were transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.
Three Rescuers Injured in Alaska Ambulance Crash: Three medics were injured when a Dodge pickup collided with an Anchorage Fire Department ambulance as it rushed a patient to the hospital. One suffered a serious head injury, while the others had minor injuries to the face and back.
Anchorage Ambulance Involved in Crash: For the second time in two days, an Anchorage Fire Department ambulance was involved in a wreck while transporting a patient. Nobody was seriously injured
JANUARY 2007
One of the three accidents reported in January may have contributed to the death of a patient.
Patient Pronounced Dead at Scene of Pa. Ambulance Crash: Several medics and EMTs working on the patient were hurt in the crash and taken to York Hospital. Authorities said it was unclear whether the patient went into cardiac arrest and died prior to the crash, or suffered a fatal heart attack because of or after the crash. She suffered no significant traumatic crash-related injuries.
Two Injured When Ohio Ambulance Hits Car: A Deerfield Township paramedic was hospitalized after his ambulance hit a car while responding to a call.
Five Hurt in Florida Ambulance Crash: A Union County ambulance carrying a patient overturned after a car forced the vehicle off the road. Two EMS workers and three passengers in the ambulance suffered minor injuries.
FEBRUARY 2007
Three accidents occurred in February, including one that killed an EMT, one that killed a patient and one that crashed into the department's own fire station.
Oklahoma EMT Dies After Ambulance Crash: An Oklahoma EMT died in the line of duty following a crash on an icy road. Janez Case, 51, was an employee of Clayton, Okla. EMS. The ambulance's driver sustained minor injuries.
Florida Ambulance Crash Kills Patient: A 77-year-old woman fighting cancer was killed when a man suspected of driving drunk slammed into the ambulance she was riding. The EMT and paramedic were transported, and were treated at a hospital and released.
Wisconsin Ambulance Crash Injures Two: A Stevens Point ambulance on its way to an emergency call slid out of control and crashed into the city's fire station No. 2. The two firefighters who were in the vehicle were transported with minor injuries.
MARCH 2007
Of the five ambulance accidents in March, two resulted in deaths.
Two Dead in Michigan Ambulance Crash: A registered nurse and a patient died in a traffic accident involving an ambulance and logging truck. The driver of the ambulance and another crew member were transported to the hospital.
California Woman Killed in Crash with Ambulance: Emergency crews were assisting a disabled vehicle when the pickup the victim was riding in crashed into the back of the ambulance. The pickup flipped over and burned, trapping the woman in the front passenger seat. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Washington Ambulance Broadsides SUV: An SUV ran a stop light and the ambulance, which was transporting a patient, hit the SUV on the passenger side. The SUV passenger was critically injured and taken to an area hospital.
Colorado Ambulance Goes Over Embankment; 3 Injured: The patient, ambulance driver and attending paramedic were injured when a South Park ambulance went over an embankment. The accident was caused by icy conditions.
Michigan Paramedics, Police Officer Injured in Crash: A Saginaw police cruiser, with its overhead lights and siren on, swerved to avoid hitting an ambulance, also with its emergency signals activated. The ambulance struck a pole, ricocheted and hit a building.
APRIL 2007
Two people were killed and another injured in a crash.
Massachusetts EMT, Patient Killed in Crash: An ambulance transporting a patient suddenly veered for unknown reasons into a barn. The 21-year-old driver of the Patriot Ambulance and the 57-year-old patient died in the crash. A Dunstable EMT was also injured.
author: Compiled by Heather Caspi, Editor, EMSResponder.com - Emergency Medical Services