Ambulance Accident Roundup

     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.