Deadly ambulance accident in Brooklyn, NYC
An elderly woman died and 8 other people were injured after a car T-boned an ambulance in New York City.
The accident took place last Sunday afternoon around 3:00 pm in Flatlands, Brooklyn, NYC. An Hatzola ambulance was transporting a 95 year old woman who suffered a cardiac arrest to the hospital. The emergency vehicle was heading South on Schenectady Avenue with its lights and sirens on according to witnesses. As it crossed Avenue N, the ambulance was T-boned by a car travelling west bound on Avenue N.
A witness told the NY Daily News that the light had just turned from orange to red when the ambulance crossed the intersection and that the driver of the black Nissan who was speeding might not have heard the ambulance sirens.
A video surveillance of the crash confirms that the black Nissan was travelling at a high rate of speed at the time it T-boned the ambulance. The impact was so intense that the ambulance rolled over on its side.
While some staff members aboard the ambulance were able to hoist themselves out of the vehicle and climb down, firefighters had to intervene to extricate the victim from the rolled over vehicle.
The elderly patient wo was rushed to the hospital did not survive the crash. The ambulance crew composed of 6 healthcare workers and the 67 year old son of the victim who was also in the ambulance were all injured in the accident. The two people inside the Nissan suffered minor injuries.
The police are still investigating the exact cause of the crash.
Between 50 and 100 ambulance accidents every month in NYC
In a congested city like New York, ambulance accidents occur on regular basis, usually between 50 and 100 every month. According to recent statistics from the NYPD, 93 ambulance accidents were reported last February and 73 last January. Since 2013, ambulance accidents in New York City have been on a rising trend.