BEAVERTON, OR (KPTV) –
They’re usually there to help those in need, but two paramedics needed help of their own.
A high impact crash between an ambulance and a minivan sent four people to the hospital.
That accident happened around 2:30 p.m. Thursday near Southwest Scholls Ferry Road and Barrows Road in the Beaverton area.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said the Newberg ambulance was headed to Saint Vincent Medical Center in Portland with a 90-year-old woman who had a broken hip.
Deputies say as the ambulance was traveling eastbound on Scholls Ferry, a minivan driven by a 51-year-old woman, was traveling from the other direction at a high rate of speed.
As the paramedics tried to avoid the minivan, investigators said the minivan slammed into the front side of the ambulance.
The impact was so strong it sent the ambulance to one side of the road.
The minivan ended up on the other side in a ditch.
People who were nearby say they heard the loud bang and sound of glass breaking.
Crews had to cut the driver of the minivan out of the wreckage before transporting her by LifeFlight to OHSU.
"There was a lot of debris everywhere. It kind of looked like a car was in the middle of the road that hadn’t gotten cleaned up. It looked pretty bad," said Kelsi Buchheit, who works nearby.
The two paramedics injured in the ambulance were identified as driver Shannon Hankel, 39 and Jared Wick, 26. Both are with the Newberg Fire Department and doctors released them from the hospital Thursday night.
The 90-year-old patient riding in the ambulance suffered minor injuries.
The minivan driver was listed in critical condition at OHSU.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but deputies said speed was a factor.
