By Lisa Roose-Church
An ambulance carrying a patient was struck Thursday afternoon when a motorist failed to yield at the intersection of M-59 and Eager Road in Oceola Township.
Sheriff Bob Bezotte said preliminary reports indicated that the Livingston County ambulance was traveling eastbound on M-59 to take a patient to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor at about 3 p.m. when the driver of a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu failed to yield.
"The ambulance was running with full lights and sirens, transporting a patient," the sheriff note.
Shawn Labriola, a former volunteer firefighter in Philadelphia, said he came upon the scene as the ambulance "went into the ditch." Labriola and another unidentified off-duty medic helped the Livingston County medic get the patient, described as an "older gentleman," safely back onto a gurney.
Labriola said the ambulance driver appeared to have struck her head in the crash, but the other medic appeared unhurt.
Bezotte said the Malibu driver suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to U-M for treatment. The ambulance patient was also taken to the hospital by a second ambulance.
Eastbound M-59 was closed at Eager Road and westbound was closed at Latson Road while sheriff’s deputies investigated the accident scene.
