By Colin McEvoy
Phillipsburg police identified Cody Kolb, 23, as the driver of a Phillipsburg Emergency Squad ambulance that struck a car this afternoon while traveling the wrong way down one-way Chambers Street.
Kolb, of Greenwich Township, was issued a summons for driving the wrong way down a one-way street, said Phillipsburg police Sgt. John Maczko. He will be fined, but Maczko did not know the exact amount.
The ambulance was responding to a call for an unconscious elderly man about 4:54 this afternoon when it T-boned a car at Hudson and Chambers streets.
Although the siren and lights were on, officials said the ambulance should not have been traveling the wrong way.
Although an investigation into the crash is still technically ongoing, Maczko said Kolb will face no more criminal charges stemming from the crash.
"The summons is going to be the conclusion of it," he said.
Christopher Lee, president of the Phillipsburg Emergency Squad, said they are conducting their own internal investigation, but for now Kolb has not been suspended or facing disciplinary action.
The passenger in the ambulance was identified as Keith Tickle, 22, of Phillipsburg. Both were members of the emergency squad and were taken to Warren Hospital, where they were treated and released, Maczko said.
"They are fine," Lee said. "Just shaken up, that’s about it."
Maczko declined to identify the victim in the struck car, but her boyfriend identified her as Taylor Gudzinas, an 18-year-old Phillipsburg High School senior. She was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital in Fountain Hill but is in stable condition, Maczko said.
Efforts to reach Gudzinas, Kolb and Tickle was unsuccessful. Lee said he has directed Kolb and Tickle not to speak to the media at this time.
