Three hospitalized after ambulance struck by traffic while on wreck scene

Three people, including the driver in an original wreck, were transported to a local hospital after an ambulance was struck by a vehicle as medics worked an accident on Northshore Parkway early this morning.

Reservoir Police Chief Perry Waggoner said at 1:13 a.m., a vehicle that was southbound on Northshore Parkway struck the guardrail and overturned, coming to rest on top of the bike trail on the bridge.

Emergency units responded to the accident, and both lanes of the road were closed down. About thirty minutes after the initial call, a vehicle approaching the emergency scene struck another vehicle and knocked it into the ambulance.

None of the emergency workers were injured, but the driver in the original accident, the driver of the vehicle that was propelled into the ambulance, and the driver of the car that struck it were all hospitalized.

Waggoner said at this point no charges have been pressed, but that police are awaiting blood test results.

Waggoner said this is a good example of why people need to heed the Move Over Law.

“The legislature took action a few years ago to enact the Move Over legislation trying to compel drivers to yield to emergency vehicles. Anytime you see lights, you need to slow and assess the situation,” he said. “In this case, the entire road was blocked because of a major collision, and the driver apparently didn’t yield. As a result, another collision occurred.”

On July 31, AMR Paramedic Jennifer Hesselbein was seriously injured and a patient was killed when they were struck by a drunk driver as she worked an accident scene.

To contact Therese Apel, call (601) 405-9807, or follow @TRex21 on Twitter.