Courtesy photo by Zachary Sanchez, Grant’s Towing
Updated at 11:41 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An ambulance on its way to the hospital with a patient wrecked early this morning west of Chehalis.
It was about 3:20 a.m. when the vehicle left the roadway at Twin Oaks and Cousins roads. Four individuals were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with what a news release described as minor injuries.
Personnel from Lewis County Fire District 6 and American Medical Response were conducting the transport, according to the news release issued by a volunteer from a neighboring fire agency.
It was an AMR ambulance which sustained what was described as major damage.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating, Lt. Laura Hanson of Lewis County Fire District 5 wrote.
District 6 Chief Tim Kinder was unavailable this morning to respond to questions.
A spokesperson for AMR said he believed the vehicle hit a soft spot at a curve.
“It didn’t tip it over, it kind of put it at an angle,” AMR Director of Communications Brant Butte said.
The patient was strapped in tight, so suffered no injuries, Butte said. The crew of two AMR medics escaped with just bumps and bruises, he said.
Butte didn’t know who the fourth individual was, but said sometimes responders from the local fire district jump in for the transport.
He said he didn’t know anything about the patient, other than they were unhurt.
“The thing is, everybody is okay,” Butte said.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded about 4:15 a.m. to investigate and said the ambulance rolled down an embankment on the north side of the road and came to rest on its top.
The patient was a male being transported for a medical emergency, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
Whether the 26-year-old driver, from Lacey, is ticketed, remains to be seen, according to Brown. That will be decided after the state patrol’s technical investigation is finished, Brown said.
The sheriff’s office requested the state patrol because it was a company vehicle, it was an ambulance, there was a patient involved and there are potential liabilities, Brown said.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
To hello, that was one of the most beautifully articulate tributes I’ve ever read. The bar has just been raised folks.
YOU KNOW I PRAISE THE EMERGENCY DRIVERS WHO ARE THERE FOR US. THEY HAVE SAVED MANY LIVES ABOVE ALL… AND WHERE WOULD WE BE WITH OUT THEM. I COULDN’T EMAGINE ALL THE THINGS THEY HAVE SEEN AND ALSO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.I PRAISE THEM AND ALSO FEEL SAD FOR THEM.IF ANYONE FEELS THEY COULD DO BETTER THEN PLEASE STEP UP AND WALK A MILE IN THERE SHOES. HOW ABOUT YOU DIRTY COP CAN YOU WALK IN THERE SHOES AND SEE WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN AND DO [WHAT THEY DO] WATCHING PEOPLE IN PAIN OR DEAD????IAM SURE THEY DO THERE BEST..GOD BLESS THEM ALL.
YOU KNOW I PRAISE THE EMERGENCY DRIVERS WHO ARE THERE FOR US. THEY HAVE SAVED MANY LIVES ABOVE ALL… AND WHERE WOULD WE BE WITH OUT THEM. I COULDN’T EMAGINE ALL THE THINGS THEY HAVE SEEN AND ALSO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.I PRAISE THEM AND ALSO FEEL SAD FOR THEM.IF ANYONE FEELS THEY COULD DO BETTER THEN PLEASE STEP UP AND WALK A MILET IN THERE SHOES. HOW ABOUT YOU DIRTY COP CAN YOU WALK IN THERE SHOES AND SEE WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN AND DO [WHAT THEY DO] WATCHING PEOPLE IN PAIN OR DEAD????IAM SURE THEY DO THERE BEST..GOD BLESS THEM ALL.
Sharon, Time to ask the tough questions….How many hours had those 2 paramedics been working on shift? How many transports? How long had they been running on that shift without a break? How many transports out of town?
Amazing that a “professional” driver is regulated at 10 hours however these Paramedics are made to work 24 to 48 hour shifts. Sometimes doing the entire shift without any real lengthy break out of the rig. I know somebody is going to tell me that Firefighters do it all the time, true but they run calls in one jurisdiction, not 5 or 6 and expected to do hospital to hospital transfers and they regularly return patients to their home facilities after being seen in the ER.
So next time that Ambulance is coming at you with lights and sirens, make sure that you get all the way over because that EMT or Paramedic that is dedicated to his job and truly saving people’s lives may have been up for 48 straight hours before being sent on yet another emergency and being placed at the wheel of a weapon capable of injuring or killing many people by Corporate Ambulance supervisors who are worried about one thing $$$$ for transports.
Glad to hear everyone is okay—Not really concerned about the “major damage” to the ambulance. To my former co-workers, God Bless and THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION AND SERVICE, it is definitely appreciated by this citizen!!!!!
Don’t drink that wine! who is the fourth guy? The Stoned Driver? Puff Puff Pass, Oops hit a curb, the fourth guy had to bounce!