New York – A police ambulance in Nassau County on Long Island struck and injured a young man in a pedestrian struck accident. The pedestrian accident occurred when the ambulance was making a turn and hit the man who had been crossing the street. Investigators indicated that the crash took place while the ambulance was travelling with lights and sirens to an emergency call. The injury victim was then rushed to the hospital with critical injuries according to doctors. This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon event where an ambulance hits a pedestrian. Another such case took place only a few days earlier with a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) ambulance striking a pedestrian teen crossing the street.

It should be noted that emergency medical technicians and paramedics are trained in the safe operation of their emergency vehicles, including ambulances and first response vehicles. They are supposed to undergo intense training to avoid such catastrophic collisions such as this. Included in the protocols is that the driver must always be aware that they must operate the emergency vehicle in such a manner as to protect others, even when responding to an emergency with lights and sirens. They should be aware that other drivers and pedestrians may not hear, see or be aware of the emergency vehicle until the last moment and must therefore be ready to stop. Despite the emergency nature of their response to an emergency call, there is little that justifies injuring or killing someone else on their way to the call. Due caution is their ultimate responsibility and a crash can sometimes be due to negligence or even reckless driving. Further investigations will be necessary to determine the cause of these specific ambulance collisions. Please read more about the most recent ambulance accident here.

Photo for illustrative purposes only. Photo by Chris Sampson [License]