Today I heard what sounded like a frantic young woman's voice coming over the radio but couldn't tell what was being said. I went down the hall and turned up the coast guard radio so I could copy down the traffic and see if we had a water rescue on our hands. To my surprise the voice came over the dispatch radio repeating the same message and still with a distinct sense of urgency, "medic 4752, we've been t-boned in the intersection of Lewis and Howard and the ambulance flipped on its side".
Wow, an ambulance struck in an intersection and sent flying? I hope no one was in it.
I called out to the crew, "Holy crap! Are you guys hearing this?". I got no response so I walked down to the kitchen to fill them in. As I got some distance from the radio I heard one of our other rigs asking dispatch if that was the ambulance that just left with their patient. I didn't yet know the importance of that question.
In the kitchen I filled the crew in on what I'd heard and we grabbed a portable radio to listen in on the call via the tac channel. Our crews had a quick response and we started hearing odd bits of radio traffic, "Engine 44 we have your firefighter on our tailboard". We listened for a while, but there wasn't much info coming over the radio and it sounded like, whatever the call was, it was winding down despite multiple patients being transported.
But then info started to trickle in via texts and radio and other sources that one of our guys had been riding in to the hospital with the ambulance and was hurt in the crash. This brought the portent of the previous radio traffic asking which ambulance it was into clear understanding. That must have been a horrible feeling for that captain as he realized what had happened. Those two crews who were on the initial medical call were the first ones to respond to the crash. I can only imagine what that long three minute ride must have been like for them.
Then the tones went off in our station and we were dispatched to that same intersection.
What?
We were then informed that we were needed to stand by in place of the original engine until the investigation and clean up was done at the scene. The crews who performed the extrication and rescue of all involved in the wreck were headed off to a CISD (critical incident stress debriefing) to make sure they were doing okay.
The scene was a mess still and we still didn't have all the information about what exactly had happened. Analyzing the accident scene, looking at the vehicles, and talking to the chiefs on scene we started to piece it all together:
Initially, Engine 44 and our rescue unit had responded to a code blue (cardiac arrest). When they arrived they found family members giving cpr to an elderly patient. They took over cpr, started an IV, and gave a couple of rounds of meds and ended up getting pulses back at some point (or so I believe but can't confirm). I don't know if the patient was breathing on their own or not but I understand that their heart was possibly beating. They loaded the patient into the ambulance and took one of the firemen with them for assistance en route to the hospital.
They were headed down a major street on the way to the freeway and were crossing a large intersection when they were struck on the passenger side by a car who continued through the intersection. Witness reports state that the ambulance had lights and sirens going and that while other vehicles pulled over this car sped up to try to make it through. The investigation, traffic cams, and the black box from the ambulance will eventually tell the whole story but it sounds like the ambulance was doing the right thing. I certainly hope so.
The force of the impact and the top heavy nature of the ambulance sent it over on its side and sliding across the intersection. The driver was trapped but conscious and able to radio in the accident and their exact position. That got our crews moving and to the scene quickly.
In the meantime a rush of bystanders flocked to the ambulance to try and help get people out. The drivers door was on the ground and the back doors jammed. Our firefighter (with what we later learned were two broken ribs and a large gash to his head) was able to climb out the side door which was now the roof. No access could be made back into the ambulance and he wound up rendering medical care to the driver of the car that had hit them.
From the look of the ambulance when we arrived I guessed that when the fire crews got on scene they cut the windshield out of the ambulance to get to the driver and used the rescue tools (jaws of life) to pry open the rear doors and get the other medic and the patient out. The patient did not survive (assuming they was alive in the first place). Both ambulance crew members had only minor injuries thankfully and our firefighter had moderate but non life threatening injuries and was patched up and released from the hospital pretty quickly. We were told he was in good spirits and doing well shortly after. Adrenaline is an amazing thing.
We remained on scene through the entire investigation (which took a couple of hours) and the righting of the ambulance (which was impressive in its own right - no pun intended) and removal of both vehicles from the roadway. Even seeing what we could inside the ambulance from where our engine was parked you could see what a nightmare it must have been. The gurney had broken loose from its mount and was upside down, equipment was thrown about everywhere (oxygen bottles, two heavy cardiac monitors, etc). It's incredible that the crews weren't hurt worse. And of course there was no way to continue life saving measures on the original patient until the extrication was done and I'm sure at that point it was too late. The question remains if the patient died because of the crash or from her original heart failure. That will become an important legal question and this mess is not likely to go away anytime soon. The investigation and lawsuits could be intense.
The poise and control of all the emergency crews was certainly impressive and they should all be commended. I'm glad they sent the responding engines to a CISD after. Given the nature of these guys and the fact that our firefighter was okay I doubt any of them went home after and they probably continued to work and do their jobs but I'm glad they all had an opportunity to talk about it and were given the option to take care of themselves as well. It could be that the department would send them home anyway, which I believe would be advisable.
Definitely a shit show and one we will hear much more about in the coming months I have no doubt.
PSA: If you see an emergency vehicle with lights and/or sirens on pull to the right and come to a complete stop. If you see other vehicles pulling over to the right and stopping and don't yet see or hear the emergency vehicle...still pull to the right and come to a complete stop. Thank you.
