Patient Dies in S.C. Ambulance Crash

A patient was killed Monday night in an ambulance crash on a South Carolina highway.

Mary Thompson, 79, of Vance died Monday as a result of blunt force trauma sustained when the ambulance overturned, Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall told T&D.com.

Jones said the Orangeburg County ambulance went off the right side of U.S. 301, then crossed back over both lanes and into the median before overturning onto its side, according to reports.

Sean Ratcliff, 29, the ambulance driver, and Kayla Mowrey, 21, the medic, were both transported to the Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

The S.C. Highway Patrol Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is reconstructing the crash to determine what sent the 2009 Chevrolet ambulance into the median.

The reconstruction team will consider possibilities including mechanical failure and weather conditions.

Ambulance crashes are relatively rare in South Carolina, the paper reported.

In 2009 and 2010, the last two years available from the S.C. Department of Public Safety, there were 311 collisions of all types involving ambulances in South Carolina.

Orangeburg County recorded two collisions involving an ambulance with an injury during those years. Bamberg County had one and Calhoun County had none.