Two Paramedics Injured in California Ambulance Crash

Two people were killed and four others injured in a violent head-on collision involving an ambulance and car Monday night along Palm Drive just north of Interstate 10 in Desert Hot Springs.

As of 4:15 a.m. Tuesday, authorities cautioned motorists to avoid Palm Drive this morning as the roadway most likely still will be closed due to an ongoing investigation by the California Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol did not have an estimated time for the road to reopen. Check mydesert.com for updates.

The collision, between a Ford Thunderbird and an American Medical Response ambulance, occurred shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday, officials said.

Witnesses told emergency personnel that the driver of the northbound Ford collided with the southbound ambulance, which was operating its lights and sirens.

Officials said the ambulance was responding to a medical emergency at the time of the crash.

California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Rentle said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, but authorities have to await toxicology reports.

Witnesses told officials the Ford was "weaving and driving recklessly" in Palm Springs and almost got into a crash along Gene Autry Trail before heading through the desert toward Desert Hot Springs.

Rentle said motorists watched as the driver of the northbound Ford, which contained four people, ran a red light at Palm Drive and I-10, swerved around northbound traffic that had slowed because of the approach of the southbound ambulance, then collided with the ambulance.

Jerry Salazar, of Palm Springs, was headed southbound on Palm Drive.

He said he had just pulled over to allow the ambulance to pass and momentarily looked down.

"When I looked up, I see this car hit the ambulance head-on," he said. "There was this gnarly sound of metal just crunching."

The ambulance was knocked onto its side, trapping two paramedics inside, officials said.

The arm of a female paramedic, the ambulance driver, was pinned beneath the vehicle while her co-worker was trapped inside the ambulance and had to be cut free, said Capt. Julie Hutchinson, a CAL Fire public information officer.

Two occupants of the Ford, the driver and a front-seat passenger, died at the scene.

One of the back seat passengers was ejected, while the fourth was not.

Injuries of the surviving four were described as critical to moderate, officials said.

A helicopter airlifted at least one of the injured to an area hospital, while the others were transported via ambulance, officials said.

Tina Baird, of Desert Hot Springs, was one of the motorists who stopped to offer help.

Baird, who said she is trained in CPR and First Aid, said she helped to calm down one of the occupants of the Thunderbird and thought she might be able to help the paramedics trapped inside the ambulance.

She said she climbed over debris and was able to see inside the ambulance but the paramedics' injuries appeared too severe for her abilities.

Kirk Warman, of Desert Hot Springs, was driving a car ahead of the Thunderbird, and saw the crash in his rearview mirror.

"Glass was flying everywhere," he said, adding that he also pulled over and tried to help before emergency personnel arrived.

About 30 rescue workers from CAL Fire, the California Highway Patrol, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and American Medical Response ambulance service assisted at the scene of the crash.

A special truck from Indio was called in for the special equipment it had on board, which was used to lift the ambulance off the arm of the pinned paramedic.

CAL Fire Firefighter/Paramedic Anthony Milnick, of Desert Hot Springs station No. 37, helped to free the trapped paramedics.

Although authorities said the effort to free the female paramedic took about 50 minutes, for Milnick and his fellow firefighters it "felt like (it took) weeks."

"The best thing for us to do is focus and not think of this person as a co-worker. When you do that you get emotionally involved and there could be mistakes," he said.