Speeding, Alcohol Blamed In Fatal Ambulance Crash

[VentMedic]

For those that still believe police do not have reasons to pull an ambulance over....

Pennsylvania EMS Worker Charged in Fatal Crash

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=6489
Story by thepittsburghchannel.com

MARSHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. --

Speeding and alcohol are being blamed for a crash between an ambulance and car along Route 19 at Brushcreek Road in Marshall Township on Sept. 23, killing two people and injuring three others.

The driver of the ambulance, Shanea Leigh Climo, 22, of Evans City, was charged on Monday with two counts of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and several traffic offenses.

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=1&id=6489

Speeding, Alcohol Blamed In Fatal Ambulance Crash
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/14513869/detail.html

MARSHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- Speeding and alcohol are being blamed for a crash between an ambulance and car along Route 19 at Brushcreek Road in Marshall Township on Sept. 23, killing two people and injuring three others.

The driver of the ambulance, Shanea Leigh Climo, 22, of Evans City, was charged on Monday with two counts of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and several traffic offenses.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/14513869/detail.html

 

[Ridryder911]

...."According to prosecutors, she approached a standing red light with lights flashing. The sirens were not turned on. Prosecutors said the ambulance struck the car, killing Stitt and Bacon.

Prosecutors said there was no reason for Climo to be speeding. The patient was under a "do not resuscitate order." Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said images from the ambulance's onboard camera, which captured 10 seconds inside and outside the ambulance before the crash, will be vital as prosecutors make their case.

Climo was arraigned Monday and released on her own recognizance.".......

Yep, we have a real outstanding profession here. Hopefully, insurance corporations will soon mandate stricter education and consequences. What is surprising (not really); is that she knew about the video camera, as well why would anybody want to jeopodarize their lives on a DNR or for any call?

This was gross negligent and unfortunately the EMS company will suffer. Yet again, maybe companies will increase their monitoring and implement more stringent requirements.

This event was a disgraceful event that should had never occurred.

 

[Airwaygoddess]

SIGH.........

 

[Asclepius]

Sentenced and hung without a trial. I guess that is the American way.

 

[VentMedic]

Sentenced and hung without a trial. I guess that is the American way.

No, the American way is for her to plead down to a couple of misdemeanor charges. As of this time she is only charged and will have ample time to come up with some defense for her actions.

She can sway the sympathy to herself and forget the many lives her actions affected other than her own.

I've seen too many DUI drivers walk away and never take responsibility for their actions regardless of what they were driving at the time.

 

[ffemt8978]

Sentenced and hung without a trial. I guess that is the American way.

My guess is that since the accident happened on Sept. 23rd and they just now charged her, they were waiting for the blood tests to come back.

She made the choice to drink and then drive an ambulance...I highly doubt anybody forced her to drive after drinking. The tragic part of this is that two innocent people died, and it is with their families that my sympathy lies.

And Ventmedic is 100% correct in his post.

 

[Ridryder911]

Sentenced and hung without a trial. I guess that is the American way.

How can one even consider anything else?

...The patient was under a "do not resuscitate order." Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said images from the ambulance's onboard camera, which captured 10 seconds inside and outside the ambulance before the crash, will be vital as prosecutors make their case.".. ...

Enough excuses, sorry; sometimes if it looks like a duck, quack likes a duck, waddles like a duck.... it's a duck ! She is lucky so far.. I am sure the charges will be changed to vehicle manslaughter. Personally, it is too bad they could not charge her with murder. She understood the dangers of being intoxicated, and willingly chose her action and decided to work.

She drove through the intersection without sirens, she was not able to control her vehicle, she murdered innocent victims.

Enough excuses.

R/r 911

 

[bstone]

She was on-duty and drunk? How?? Is this a volunteer service where she was home, drunk and responded as a driver? Was she drinking at her fire house/station house? Was she drunk and came into work? Any ideas?

 

[Flight-LP]

Absolutely pathetic. Decertify her, prosecute her, and incarcerate her. The longer the better.................................

 

[Guardian]

Sentenced and hung without a trial. I guess that is the American way.

Totally agree, great post. The fact the pt was DNR had no bearing because the pt wasn't in cardiac arrest. The drivers blood alcohol was .09 and the legal limit there is .08. She wasn't drunk, probably just had a beer before the call. It appears that she made a mistake by not stopping at the light. We have all made that mistake at some point in our careers. We were just lucky enough that it didn't end in tragedy. 60mph in a 40 could conceivably be appropriate, given circumstances we might not be aware of yet (ex. road topography, pt condition, etc.). Don't get me wrong, it appears she was wrong and needs to be punished. But, it's wrong for all of you to get up on your high horse and blame her for our collective problems. Have a heart, she's a 22 y/o who made a mistake. She made this mistake because of misconceptions about our profession we have collectively allowed to continue. We need to be there for fellow ems workers, just like FD and PD workers stand up for each other. I don’t let a couple of one sided, sensationalized news articles convince me of anything. I will always give my fellow ems providers at least some benefit of the doubt. And to some of the people who have made comments…Regardless of the years of sacrifice you have made solely to help others, despite literally risking your life (physically, emotionally, financially, etc) to help others, I can’t wait to kick you while you’re down after you have made a mistake. I look forward to it.

 

[Ridryder911]

I am totally surprised and shocked at your view Gaurdian. Sorry, nope, not in 30 years have I ever went into work with alcohol in my system, as well running through intersections going at emergency status without audible sirens. Usally, as well I do not transport DNR patients with L/S , but that is a different topic.

Sorry, there is NO excuse, and I don't care how old she is! She MURDERED two people... point blank. The same if another drunk or careless person performed the same act, the exception is: We are to be held above the normal accountable standards! People lives depend upon actions and reactions on all accounts, we all know this from day one... sorry there is no excuse. This was not a misdiagnose problem, that one failed to treat or inappropriately treated. This was an adult that had wrecklessly and carelessly operated an vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (even if it was one/100 of a point, she still was legally drunk). Then to describe, "probably just had a beer before the call "; you've got to be kidding! When does one have a beer before any call, going onto duty, or even driving a vehicle?

Personally, it is a shame they cannot prosecute her for murder I , she intentionally and willingly, knowingly, operated under distress.

I don't condone the "brotherhood of the blue" either, it is wrong. No one is above the law, or standards. That is part of the corruption of the "system" and why the public does not trust law enforcement officials. The old... "Do as I say; Not as I do" mentality. I am glad, we attempt to police our own, shame more light is not shed upon more problems. Yes, stand as a profession, and uphold each other when it is for the good of the profession, good for the care of patient, not when there was wrong doing.

Sorry, if you are going to wait to kick me down for driving while intoxicated; you will have a long wait, I definitely would not hold my breath. Making error in judgement upon patient care, and reasons is one thing; but to be intoxicated operating an emergency vehicle is another.

I will apologize if there is something more than what has been described or reported, but until then, let's clean up our act and definitely not immortalize other professions way of sweeping it under the rug.

Instead of pitying the accused, maybe some sympathy to the family that lost innocent beloved ones and the remaining crews and administration that have to deal with her mess. I am sure it will be a long time to repair the losses both professionally and financially.

R/r 911

 

[BossyCow]

How can one even consider anything else?


R/r 911

I don't know, I still think that innocent until proven guilty thing applies. But then... I'm a true blue american. If she's guilty, which is proven only by conviction, then hang her.

 

[Asclepius]

All I can say is, one ought to be careful when condemning another based solely off what the press is reporting. As we all should know, the press very rarely gets it right. I have known a person who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter based off of what was reported to the press only to later (after serving some undeserved time) have his conviction unanimously overturned by the appellate court.

This sounds like a tragic situation for everyone involved, but I wasn't there. Were you?

 

[Guardian]

I am totally surprised and shocked at your view Gaurdian. Sorry, nope, not in 30 years have I ever went into work with alcohol in my system, as well running through intersections going at emergency status without audible sirens. Usally, as well I do not transport DNR patients with L/S , but that is a different topic.

Sorry, there is NO excuse, and I don't care how old she is! She MURDERED two people... point blank. The same if another drunk or careless person performed the same act, the exception is: We are to be held above the normal accountable standards! People lives depend upon actions and reactions on all accounts, we all know this from day one... sorry there is no excuse. This was not a misdiagnose problem, that one failed to treat or inappropriately treated. This was an adult that had wrecklessly and carelessly operated an vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (even if it was one/100 of a point, she still was legally drunk). Then to describe, "probably just had a beer before the call "; you've got to be kidding! When does one have a beer before any call, going onto duty, or even driving a vehicle?

Personally, it is a shame they cannot prosecute her for murder I , she intentionally and willingly, knowingly, operated under distress.

I don't condone the "brotherhood of the blue" either, it is wrong. No one is above the law, or standards. That is part of the corruption of the "system" and why the public does not trust law enforcement officials. The old... "Do as I say; Not as I do" mentality. I am glad, we attempt to police our own, shame more light is not shed upon more problems. Yes, stand as a profession, and uphold each other when it is for the good of the profession, good for the care of patient, not when there was wrong doing.

Sorry, if you are going to wait to kick me down for driving while intoxicated; you will have a long wait, I definitely would not hold my breath. Making error in judgement upon patient care, and reasons is one thing; but to be intoxicated operating an emergency vehicle is another.

I will apologize if there is something more than what has been described or reported, but until then, let's clean up our act and definitely not immortalize other professions way of sweeping it under the rug.

Instead of pitying the accused, maybe some sympathy to the family that lost innocent beloved ones and the remaining crews and administration that have to deal with her mess. I am sure it will be a long time to repair the losses both professionally and financially.

R/r 911

I rarely disagree with you and greatly respect your opinion. However, in this rare instance, I completely disagree. First, a blood etoh of .08 is very conservative. Some people can look at alcohol and blow a .08. It is very conceivable that she drank hours earlier and thought she was completely sober at the time of the call. .09 isn’t drunk, alcohol probably didn’t even play a role here. So all this crap about her being drunk is most likely BS. Maybe she was a volunteer, who was unaware she would be running a call 4 hours later. Then 4 hours goes by, you hear the tones, and she responded because she thought she was completely sober. The scenario I just gave might be entirely wrong. The point is, we don’t know yet. Definitely not black and white. Now, remember this is a young woman who has become an ems provider to try and help people in her community. SHE IS NOT A MURDERER. This is a girl who made a mistake and ran a red light. I blame it on the whacker mentality. I blame it on the system as a whole. I’m not going to take out my anger about our collective lack of professionalism on some young girl trying to help her community!! I treat all my pts, even the ones with DNRs. The only change in treatment comes when a dnr pt goes into cardiac or respiratory arrest. This wasn’t the case here. Our job is very risky. Right now, it’s very popular to try and sensationalize a mistake made by an ems provider (after all, we should never make mistakes or be human). I personally realize how important and hard our job is and stand by my fellow ems providers and give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Guardian]

All I can say is, one ought to be careful when condemning another based solely off what the press is reporting. As we all should know, the press very rarely gets it right. I have known a person who was convicted of voluntary manslaughter based off of what was reported to the press only to later (after serving some undeserved time) have his conviction unanimously overturned by the appellate court.

This sounds like a tragic situation for everyone involved, but I wasn't there. Were you?

yep, great point.

 

[ffemt8978]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the law, but if the legal BAC limit is .08 and your BAC is .09, you are over the legal limit - therefore you are LEGALLY drunk, regardless of whether or not you are displaying symptoms.

I do agree with you, Guardian, in that the whacker mentality may have played some role in this but it ultimately comes back to the fact that she made 3 consecutive bad choices. If she had chosen differently on any of these, this tragic incident may have never happened.

1) She made the choice to drink
2) She made the choice to respond and drive the ambulance after drinking
3) She made the choice to enter the intersection sans siren and possibly without exercising due care and regard for other vehicles

 

[Guardian]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the law, but if the legal BAC limit is .08 and your BAC is .09, you are over the legal limit - therefore you are LEGALLY drunk, regardless of whether or not you are displaying symptoms.

I do agree with you, Guardian, in that the whacker mentality may have played some role in this but it ultimately comes back to the fact that she made 3 consecutive bad choices. If she had chosen differently on any of these, this tragic incident may have never happened.

1) She made the choice to drink
2) She made the choice to respond and drive the ambulance after drinking
3) She made the choice to enter the intersection sans siren and possibly without exercising due care and regard for other vehicles

How was she supposed to know that her BAC was .09? She probably didn't know. Her BAC most likely didn't play a role here. If I'm driving 56 in a 55, am I a reckless driver? Of course not, and the same can be said for .09 in a .08. Hell, in a lot of states, .09 is perfectly legal. You guys make it seem like she went on a bender and then hopped into an ambulance wasted out of her mind. All I ask is that you put this into it’s proper perspective. Was she most likely wrong? Yes. Is she a murderer? No. Is she a victim of a crappy system? Yes. Should we all bash her to make a political statement about our ems system? NO! This poor girl is going through enough right now. And, I hope none of you ever fall from your high horse. Because you will be immediately proven guilty based on what some idiot wrote in a local newspaper.

 

[VentMedic]

Gee Guardian, sounds like you are pro drunk driving. Numbers are a legal stance. Knowing your limit is an ethical and professional stance. I take it you haven't seen the studies done on judgement and response impairment behind the wheel of a car at different drinking levels. Sympathetic supporters provide the drunk driver with more excuses than they can come up with on their own. Thus, the death toll keeps on climbing. If you know someone has a problem either acute or chronic, don't become their enabler.

We practice "8 hours bottle to throttle". Granted there may be times when someone has a late night, we would hope they can hydrate themselves to a sober state way before they arrive to work or preferably call in sick. Chances are we'll ground them from flight and put a disciplinary note in their file. The partner will also be disciplined if they have knowledge of an impaired partner and fail to report it. Sometimes their discipline can be more severe than the person who is impaired.

As with most workmen's comp claims for EMS and hospital, injuries and needle sticks may call for drug and alcohol testing of the employee. Any blood alcohol level is not tolerated at most professional places of employment in healthcare. If you have a problem in Florida, the employer and your state licensing board will work with you if you are willing.

If a person is at 0.08, unless it was a very big 1 drink, it was probably more then "a drink".

Did you happen to notice the damage done to the car? Maybe the dead victims should be blamed for not knowing she had an alcohol level of 0.09 and inconvenienced her driving ability by being at that intersection. Any time you consume something that will alter your ability to operate a motor vehicle and especially an ambulance, you are at the very least stupid as well as negligent.

This news story was a press release more than two months after the incident. I don't remember the initial story even making a blip on the EMS newswire. So, NO, the news media is not to be another excuse for her behavior.

Excuses, Excuses... Who is responsible for one's actions?

Drunk Driving is an EMS problem that we look at every day in one way or another. It is unfortunate when a member of the EMS team crosses that line. She's not the first and won't be the last.

 

[SC Bird]

I know I certainly have not been on these forums for any amount of time (compared to some of the old salts)....but I will say this.

From my meager student point of view, I see lots of problems with this most of which have been beaten like a dead horse in previous posts. In the end, I feel as though yes, it was a tragic event and I do feel badly that such an unfortunate event has happened to a young EMT starting out in her career. However, I can't see showing up to work in any EMS system with a B.A.C. level of anything over .00.

I know that circumstances may have justified running L/S for the pt., but I don't believe that any circumstances justify her getting behind the wheel in the physical state that she was in.

-Matt

 

[Guardian]

Gee Guardian, sounds like you are pro drunk driving. Numbers are a legal stance. Knowing your limit is an ethical and professional stance. I take it you haven't seen the studies done on judgement and response impairment behind the wheel of a car at different drinking levels. Sympathetic supporters provide the drunk driver with more excuses than they can come up with on their own. Thus, the death toll keeps on climbing. If you know someone has a problem either acute or chronic, don't become their enabler.

We practice "8 hours bottle to throttle". Granted there may be times when someone has a late night, we would hope they can hydrate themselves to a sober state way before they arrive to work or preferably call in sick. Chances are we'll ground them from flight and put a disciplinary note in their file. The partner will also be disciplined if they have knowledge of an impaired partner and fail to report it. Sometimes their discipline can be more severe than the person who is impaired.

As with most workmen's comp claims for EMS and hospital, injuries and needle sticks may call for drug and alcohol testing of the employee. Any blood alcohol level is not tolerated at most professional places of employment in healthcare. If you have a problem in Florida, the employer and your state licensing board will work with you if you are willing.

If a person is at 0.08, unless it was a very big 1 drink, it was probably more then "a drink".

Did you happen to notice the damage done to the car? Maybe the dead victims should be blamed for not knowing she had an alcohol level of 0.09 and inconvenienced her driving ability by being at that intersection. Any time you consume something that will alter your ability to operate a motor vehicle and especially an ambulance, you are at the very least stupid as well as negligent.

This news story was a press release more than two months after the incident. I don't remember the initial story even making a blip on the EMS newswire. So, NO, the news media is not to be another excuse for her behavior.

Excuses, Excuses... Who is responsible for one's actions?

Drunk Driving is an EMS problem that we look at every day in one way or another. It is unfortunate when a member of the EMS team crosses that line. She's not the first and won't be the last.

I am not trying to excuse anyone. I am trying to put this into proper perspective. The day your little 8 hour rule doesn't work and you come in with a .09 (without even knowing it), I hope they give you the electric chair. I'm not pro drunk driving. I do think that her .09 and her accident were two separate things. I don't think she was impaired in the least bit by a .09. As a matter of fact, I have read studies on this and many argue that .08 is too low to convict someone of DUI. If a scientist were analyzing this case, he/she would look at the variables separately and most likely conclude that a .09 had no effect here. Unfortunately, people see the world in black and white. First, drunk driving is fine. Then MADD comes along, and suddenly everyone with a hint of alcohol on them, is a murderer. Sorry, but her BAC most likely wasn't the cause of this accident. What killed those two men were us. We tolerate this whacker culture, and when it kills, we put the blame solely on one person or alcohol. You are the one who is excusing our profession and the cause of the real problem here.