Patient killed when ambulance crashes

[Outbac1]

This was just on the evening news here. Earlier today an ambluance went off the road. The patient was killed and the paramedic driving was airlifted to hosp. The attending medic was taken by ground. It was during a routine transfer from our main provincial specialty hosp to the pts home hosp. Witnesses said it was driving the normal speed for the highway and suddenly veered across the highway and down a steep embankment. I'll post more info as it becomes available.

Condolences to the family of the pt and a speedy recover to our fellow medics.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/09/17/ambulance-crash.html?ref=rss

 

[Outbac1]

So far we have had almost no news on this. The company is keeping it very quiet. So far all we know is the medics started their shift that morning and hadn't worked the night before. The even money odds among the crews is that the driver fell asleep or was reaching for something in the cab.
Will give more as it becomes available.

 

[enjoynz]

Very sorry to hear about this incident.
My thought's go out to the people involved and their families.

Enjoynz

 

[MtJerry]

The even money odds among the crews is that the driver fell asleep or was reaching for something in the cab.

Or something broke ... been there done that ... and not in an ambulance.

 

[traumateam1]

Again, prayers and thoughts go out to the families of the deceased and injured. -_-

Or something broke ... been there done that ... and not in an ambulance.

That happened once, not to my unit but to another units. We got a call that Alpha lost breaks and steering on a Very windy road that runs right beside a lake. We didn't have any additional info and if the crew was okay.. so the driver threw it into gear and we hauled a$$ to their 10-20. It turns out the crew wasn't injured at all, it's just the info that dispatch had made it sound bad.. they were busy with a 90 something y/o p/t so they didn't update dispatch. All in all, everyone lived and the p/t got to the hospital. Was scary to hear that one of our crews was involved in a "possible serious MVA, advising us they lost control of steering and brakes."

 

[emtannie]

The news link has limited information, so it is difficult to speculate. I agree that the possibility of vehicle malfunction causing the incident is likely - whether it is brakes, blown tire, or other incident. Is it possible the medic driving swerved to miss something on the road?

It is truly a very sad incident, and my thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the deceased, and the injured. I hope that those injured recover quickly.

 

[traumateam1]

Hey has anyone heard any more on this?

 

[Outbac1]

No more yet. The company is keeping a very tight lid on all info about it. I believe both medics are still in hosp. but came through their surgeries well.