Wednesday, May 22, 2013  TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. — The four people injured in Saturday’s head-on collision between an ambulance and pickup truck on state Route 32 remained hospitalized on Tuesday, the Ulster County undersherriff said.

Frank Faluotico also said the cause of the crash remained under investigation and that no tickets had been issued.

The accident, at 6:55 a.m. on Route 32 near Platt Lane, involved a Mobile Life Support Services ambulance driven by paramedic William Spadafora, 43, of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, and a 2002 Dodge pickup driven by Marco Ochoa, 18, of 16 Oak St., Kingston, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A passenger in the ambulance and the two people in the pickup also were hurt.

There were no patients in the ambulance at the time, and the vehicle was not on an emergency call.

Spadafora was flown by helicopter to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries. A passenger in the ambulance, Gigi Williams, also of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, and also a Mobile Life employee, was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury.

Ochoa suffered a minor leg injury and was taken to Kingston Hospital, and a passenger in the pickup, Reyes Lucero, 21, also suffered minor injuries.

Andrew LaMarca, director of development for Mobile Life, said Spadafora and Williams are boyfriend and girlfriend and were on duty at the time of the crash, moving the ambulance from one Mobile Life station to another.

The crash caused extensive front-end damage to both vehicles. 

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013  By David Henke

An ambulance responding to a rollover crash along County Road 42 in Rosemount on Tuesday morning was in turn hit by another vehicle, according to Rosemount police.

Two people sustained minor injuries during the consecutive accidents, which occurred west of Hwy. 52, police said.

Rosemount police and Health East paramedics responded to the first crash at approximately 9:22 a.m. on Tuesday. The driver, 21-year-oold Dylan Skov, had been westbound on County Road 42 when his Jeep Cherokee left the roadway and rolled over, police said. Skov, who was wearing his seatbelt, suffered only minor injuries.

The Health East ambulance had just arrived on scene at 9:32 a.m. when it was struck by a Ford Explorer, which also rolled over. Trevor Johnson, a 31-year-old Rosemount resident, was driving the Explorer and sustained minor injuries. He was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision. 

Rosemount police and fire crews were assisted by the Minnesota State Patrol, Apple Valley Police Department and Health East ambulance service.

The accident is still under investigation. 

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013  A late night accident involving an ambulance ended up sending three people in the hospital.
 
Just after 11:00 Monday night a Jan-Care ambulance ran off the side of Route 50 in Doddridge County and crashed over a guardrail and into a bank. 
 
The driver said he fell asleep at the wheel. One person was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital, and two others in the ambulance were taken to another hospital.
 
State Police have not released the names of those involved in this crash.

 

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013  By Lonnie Wong

Two Sacramento fire fighters were attacked in separate incidents this weekend while responding to medical calls.

The police department said 29-year-old Daniel Sevall came at a paramedic after they responded to a call for help.

The firefighter grabbed him until police came, but he suffered a slight muscle strain.  Sevall was arrested for assault.

Later that same day paramedics had just moved 23-year-old Jonathan Sawyer from a their gurney to a hospital bed at Sutter General Hospital when Sawyer took a swing at one of the firefighters grazing him on the chin.  Sawyer was also arrested for assault.

City fire officials say both men were unstable.  Sevall was known to firefighters who had dealt with him before.  The Sacramento Fire Department responds to 5,700 medical calls a year, 65 percent of their total call volume.

Battalion Chief Niko King says it’s not unusual for them to deal with on-going medical problems that include psychological issues that can be unpredictable.

“Unpredictable where a person might not even appear to be angry but is going to lash out,” said King.

There’s an attempt at the State Capitol to create a system where people with mental health issues can be identified and treated.  But until it’s in place, police and fire personnel will have to respond to many people who have  mental health issues and put themselves in harm’s way.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013  By Cecelio Padilla

Police say that a man assaulted a paramedic after being transported to a hospital early Saturday evening.

The man, 23-year-old Jonathan Sawyer, was taken to Sutter General Hospital around 6:20 p.m.

Inside, police say that Sawyer then attacked a paramedic, injuring the man’s face. Sawyer was then held until police showed up.

Sawyer was soon arrested and charged with assault. The paramedic is expected to be OK.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013  A 23-year-old cyclist is being treated in hospital for injuries sustained in a crash with an ambulance on Greetwell Road on Sunday afternoon.

The incident happened at around 5.40pm on May 19 on Greetwell Road near the junction with St Anne’s Road, before the hospital.

The ambulance was in collision with the man from Lincoln, who was on a bike.

Emergency services attended and he was taken to Lincoln County Hospital for treatment. An update on his condition is expected later in the day.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact Lincolnshire Police on the 101 number, quoting incident 367 of May 19. 

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013  West Virginia State Police are investigating an ambulance crash that happened in Doddridge County late Monday night.  A Jan-Care ambulance crashed on Route 50 near Arnold's Creek just after 11 p.m.

The driver said he was traveling toward Parkersburg when the vehicle ran off the roadway and ended up in the guard rail and a ravine, according to West Virginia State Police. The driver told police that he had fallen asleep while driving.

One person was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospital by Air Evac Lifeteam.

There was one patient in the ambulance, according to 911 officials. The patient and another person in the ambulance were taken to United Hospital Center for treatment.

State police have not released the names of the people involved. Their injuries didn't appear to be life threatening. 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013  TOWN OF ULSTER, N.Y. — A paramedic from Hurley was seriously injured Saturday morning when the ambulance he was driving collided head-on with a pickup on state Route 32 near the Ulster-Rosendale town line, according to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.

A passenger in the ambulance and the two people in the pickup also were hurt, deputies said. They said there were no patients in the ambulance at the time and that the vehicle was not an emergency call.

The accident, at 6:55 a.m. on Route 32 near Platt Lane, involved a Mobile Life Support Services ambulance driven by paramedic William Spadafora, 43, of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, and a 2002 Dodge pickup driven by Marco Ochoa, 18, of 16 Oak St., Kingston, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The crash caused extensive front-end damage to both vehicles.

Spadafora was flown by helicopter to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries, deputies said, and a passenger in the ambulance, Gigi Williams, also of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury. Their conditions were not available.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Wallace Fulford said Williams, too, is a Mobile Life employee.

Deputies said Ochoa suffered a minor leg injury and was taken to Kingston Hospital and that a passenger in the pickup, Reyes Lucero, 21, also suffered minor injuries.


Andrew LaMarca, director of development for Mobile Life, said Spadafora and Williams are boyfriend and girlfriend and were on duty at the time of the crash, moving the ambulance from one Mobile Life station to another.
The Sheriff’s Office said the cause of the accident remained under investigation. 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013  By Leonard Sparks

ULSTER — A Mobile Life Support Services paramedic is in critical condition and an emergency medical technician was injured after their ambulance collided head-on with a pickup truck Saturday on Route 32, the Ulster County Sheriff's Office said.

William Spadafora, 43, of Hurley, had to be extricated from the ambulance he was driving after it collided with a 2002 Dodge pickup at about 6:55 a.m. near Platt Lane in the Town of Ulster, officials said.

He was then flown to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries, police said.

Gigi Williams, an EMT riding with Spadafora, was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury.

Williams, also of Hurley, was then moved to Albany Medical Center in stable condition, said Andrew LaMarca, director of development for Mobile Life.

The driver of the pickup, Marco Ochoa, 18, of Kingston, also had to be extricated, police said.

He and a passenger, Reyes Lucero, 21, were both taken to Kingston Hospital with minor injuries, according to police.

"To the best of our knowledge, Gigi is stable," LaMarca said. "Bill has undergone surgery, and I guess there will be a number of procedures."

The ambulance was traveling north on Route 32 when it collided with the pickup truck heading south, Bloomington fire Chief Kevin Keller said.

"It was significant damage to both vehicles, and the ambulance had a slight engine fire," Keller said.

In addition to Bloomington fire personnel, both the Kingston and Rosendale fire departments responded with extrication equipment, Keller said.

lsparks@th-record.com 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013  By Kyle Maroney

HOLLAND, MI -- Three people were taken to Holland Hospital Friday night with nonlife-threatening injuries after the car they were in struck an American Medical Response ambulance on Waverly Road near 16th Street, according to police dispatchers and ambulance company supervisors.

The ambulance was southbound on Waverly Road when the crash occurred about 8:55 p.m. on Friday, May 17, according an AMR dispatch supervisor. It is unknown at this time who caused the collision.

The ambulance was not responding to an emergency at the time and did not have a patient inside, the dispatcher said.

The driver of the ambulance was being examined for minor injuries.

Email Kyle Moroney at kmoroney@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter orFacebook 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013 

• Adrienne Broaddus

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - No injuries were reported after an ambulance and a car crashed near downtown Saturday night.

Medics traveling eastbound on 16th Street and a driver heading northbound on Meridian Street collided. 24-Hour News 8 crews at the scene learned the ambulance had just left IU Health Methodist Hospital and had its lights and sirens activated. 

No injuries were reported in the crash and no patients were inside of the ambulance. 



Traffic was being diverted while the crash was cleared. 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013  HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - Holland emergency crews responded to a two-vehicle crash involving an ambulance and a car Friday night.

The crash happened before 9 p.m. Friday on East 16th Street near Waverly Rd.

Authorities say three people were in the car. They were all taken to the hospital, but they only have minor injuries.

The ambulance did not have its lights on before the crash and did not have a patient inside it. Two paramedics were inside the ambulance during the crash, but were checked out on scene and released.










 

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Sunday, May 19, 2013  By Paula Owen

LEOMINSTER — A rollover on Route 2 in the westbound lane Wednesday night may be the cause of a four-car accident that occurred only moments later close to the same location that involved an Athol Fire Department ambulance, according to state police spokesman David Procopio. 

There was no patient on board the ambulance at the time of the accident, he said. 

State police received a call around 3:40 p.m. of an accident slightly west of the Abbott Avenue exit, Mr. Procopio said. 

Four minutes later, one of the troopers who responded called in a second crash that occurred as a result of first crash, he said. 

The first crash involved only one vehicle—a 2005 Chevrolet Aveo driven by Mary Brigham, 54, of Westminster who was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus in Worcester for non-life threatening injuries, he said. 

According to a preliminary statement from a witness, Ms. Brigham lost control of her car when a car in front of her slowed down to allow another vehicle to merge onto Route 2, Mr. Procoio said. 

"Her car swerved to avoid striking the woman who slowed down," he said. 

Ms. Brigham didn't hit the car that slowed down, but lost control when she swerved and rolled her vehicle over into the trees and was trapped, he said. The Leominster Fire Department had to extricate her from her car. She was wearing a seat belt, he said. 

No one was found at fault and no citations were issued in that crash, he said. 

Details are not available on the second crash, he said, that is still under investigation. 

In that crash, an Athol Fire Department ambulance operated by firefighter Arthur Shepardson Jr., 47, of Athol, was involved in a four-car accident near the same location as the first. Athol firefighter Kevin Kaczmarczyk, 35, was a passenger in the ambulance. 

The other vehicles involved were: a 2006 Toyota Rav4 driven by Benjamin J. Mbwambo, 41, of Leominster; a 1998 Subaru Legacy station wagon driven by a 32-year-old Princeton woman, transporting her 31-year-old husband, and two sons 2 and 4; and a 1999 Olds Mobile driven by a 33-year-old Gardner man. 

The family was not injured, but the others involved were transported and treated for minor injuries. 

Contact Paula Owen at powen@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @PaulaOwenTG.  

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Saturday, May 18, 2013  paramedic from Hurley was seriously injured Saturday morning when the ambulance he was driving collided head-on with a pickup on state Route 32 near the Ulster-Rosendale town line, according to the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office.

A passenger in the ambulance and the two people in the pickup also were hurt, deputies said. They said there were no patients in the ambulance at the time and that the vehicle was not an emergency call.

The accident, at 6:55 a.m. on Route 32 near Platt Lane, involved a Mobile Life Support Services ambulance driven by paramedic William Spadafora, 43, of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, and a 2002 Dodge pickup driven by Marco Ochoa, 18, of 16 Oak St., Kingston, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The crash caused extensive front-end damage to both vehicles.

Spadafora was flown by helicopter to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries, deputies said, and a passenger in the ambulance, Gigi Williams, also of 191 Russell Road, Hurley, was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury. Their conditions were not available.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Wallace Fulford said Williams, too, is a Mobile Life employee.

Deputies said Ochoa suffered a minor leg injury and was taken to Kingston Hospital and that a passenger in the pickup, Reyes Lucero, 21, also suffered minor injuries.

Andrew LaMarca, director of development for Mobile Life, said Spadafora and Williams are boyfriend and girlfriend and were on duty at the time of the crash, moving the ambulance from one Mobile Life station to another.

The Sheriff’s Office said the cause of the accident remained under investigation.

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Friday, May 17, 2013  A seriously ill patient has died after his ambulance was in a crash with a car on its way to the Royal Victoria Hospital, police said.

Three crew and the driver of the black Renault Espace were also taken to hospital following the accident at the Westlink carriageway in Belfast today. 

It has not been established that the patient died because of the accident. The emergency vehicle was heading to the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) when the accident happened at the junction with the Grosvenor Road, an Ambulance Service spokesman said.

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokeswoman said: “A male patient in his mid to late 50s on board the ambulance at the time of the collision has died in hospital. At this stage we cannot say that the death occurred as a result of the collision.”

Road closures have been put in place. The driver of the car, a woman aged 51, has been treated and left hospital. Two ambulance staff were treated for chest pains and head and neck injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.

An Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The crew immediately summoned an additional ambulance to continue the transfer of the original patient to the RVH.

“Further ambulances were required for the three crew and the driver of the car, who were all taken to the RVH with non-life-threatening injuries.” 

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