BRONX, NY- Jems.com writes that three people were hurt in a crash involving an ambulance that was driving to the site of an emergency call. The vehicle struck an optical store. The police report that the collision took place at about 7:30 in the morning when the ambulance and a Honda Civic collided.*
The crash injured two FDNY personnel and the person in the Civic. The extent of the injuries is not reported except to say that the injuries were not considered life-threatening.
The shop was severely damaged. The owner said that the damage would financially impact him.
Every year there are 4,500 crashes in the United States that involve ambulances. Of those crashes, about 34 percent lead to injuries, and an average of around 33 people die in these collisions each year.
In the majority of fatal ambulance crashes, 63 percent, the occupant of the other vehicle is the victim. An ambulance passenger is a victim 21 percent of the time, and in 12 percent of accidents the person killed is not a vehicle occupant, but a cyclist or a pedestrian. Ambulance drivers are killed in only about 4 percent of crashes involving these vehicles.
One major issue leading to injuries in ambulance crashes is the failure of emergency providers to wear seatbelts. A massive 84 percent of medical providers in the patient compartment was not using any restraints at the time of the accident.
Patients were restrained more often than medical providers. However, in 44 percent of serious crashes, patients were ejected from their cots. About 61 percent of patients had only lateral belts, only 33 percent had both shoulder and lap belts.
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