JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -

Ten people were taken to local hospitals after four vehicles were involved in an accident; one being a Jackson Fire Department truck, an ambulance, and two civilian vehicles.

It happened at the intersection of Beasley Road and Watkins Drive. We are told an AMR emergency vehicle was responding to an emergency when it was flipped on its side. It is not known if the first responder collided with another vehicle.

A JFD fire truck somehow collided with a maroon Oldsmobile. In all, 10 people were taken to area hospitals and an 11th victim refused medical treatment.

AMR Public Informations Officer Jim Pollard says each employee is trained to drive with safety in mind when responding to emergency situations.

“Everybody goes through training to operate the vehicles safely. And that’s repeated training, not just a one shot type of training,” Pollard said.

“In AMR’s case there a computers on board in every ambulance to tell us how safely the driver is driving,” Pollard added.

Fire Chief R. D. Simpson says the accident is under investigation.

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FORT NELSON, BC – An ambulance carrying a patient crashed in northern B.C. this weekend.

The B.C. ambulance service says one of its vehicles rolled over about 50 kilometres outside of Fort Nelson around midnight.

A second ambulance was called in to take the patient and the two paramedics to hospital in Fort Nelson. There is no update on the patient’s condition. The paramedics suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The patient was later transported to Edmonton and one of the paramedics to Vancouver for further treatment.

No word yet on the cause of the crash. An internal investigation has been launched.

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AMARILLO, TEXAS — A Miami man is now in custody after police say he stole an ambulance from Pampa.

Alberto Bernal-Terriquez, 32, was booked into the Potter County Detention Center on charges of Evading Arrest with a Motor Vehicle and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.

It was just before 3:00 a.m. Friday when a Potter County Deputy saw a Miami ambulance driving on North Western Street. According to the Potter County Sheriff’s Department, the ambulance became suspicious to the Deputy because it was driving about 10 to 15 mph lower than the posted speed limit. Additionally, it was not driving in the direction of a medical facility.

After the driver of the ambulance went through a red light at Amarillo Blvd. and Hughes without any emergency lights or sirens, the Potter County Sheriff’s Department said the Deputy decided to make a traffic stop.

The driver of the ambulance refused to stop, police said. The speed of the ambulance was listed at 20 to 25 mph, a press release said. It finally came to a stop ner the 100 block of North Van Buren where the road comes to an end.

The driver, Bernal-Terriquez, was arrested and it was determined the ambulance had been stolen in Pampa. Police said the ambulance was left a tire shop for a front-end alignment.

Gonzales, according to the Potter County Sheriff’s Department, gave the false name of Gerado Javier Gonzalez.

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GRANBY, Mass. – A quiet community in Western Massachusetts is in shock after a woman was found strangled to death in her home earlier this week. It’s the first murder in Granby more than 3 decades.

Granby, a western Massachusetts community, typically described as small and quiet. “It’s usually really quiet here, nothing really bad happens,” said Dahlia Windoloski, who visits Granby often.

“Sometimes you’ll drive down the street and hear of a cow got loose but you don’t hear of incidents like this too often, so it is surprising,” said Woody Jeffroy, a resident in Granby.

Now, Granby is the center of a homicide investigation.

37-year old Annamaria Rintala was found strangled in her home at 18 Barton Street.

Neighbors tell 22News she shared that home with her wife and recently adopted child.

Quiet Granby hasn’t had a murder in about 30 years. and when neighbors realized it happened in their neck of the woods, they were in disbelief.

“I thought, wow, that’s close to home, I left work early to come home and make sure everything was ok,” said Lori Nowak, a next door neighbor.

Northwestern district attorney Elizabeth Scheibel told 22News Rintala was a paramedic for American Medical Response.

As police try to figure out who strangled the paramedic in her home, neighbors are asking themselves at least one question.

“It makes me wonder what we as neighbors can do to help improve the situation to help these folks who are suffering and and reach out to those folks who are hurting at a time like this,” said David Adams, South Hadley.

Still no arrests have been made in this case.

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Twelve firefighters will soon be unemployed and the Moline Fire Department will have to start looking for a new fire chief.

When Ron Miller resigned at Tuesday night’s Moline City Council meeting, it came as an absolute shock to his fellow firefighters.

Miller says he doesn’t think the city’s priorities are in the right place, calling the budget approval that would privatize EMS service in Moline, a threat to public safety.

In order to get a handle on a million dollar budget deficit, Moline City Councilors agreed to eliminate 12 firefighter/paramedic positions by July.

That also means letting a private company handle ambulance calls.

On the issue of the actual firefighter positions, these are not vacant positions or ones that would be lost through attrition. These are actual firefighters who’ll have to be laid off.

The former chief says it’s inexcusable.

“Their number one priority should be the safety of their citizens,” said Miller. “They care more about worrying about brick streets and leaf blowing.”

Moline’s City Administrator, Lew Steinbrecher, contends public safety won’t be impacted by the layoffs.

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Decatur Police say an ambulance was headed west on Highway 20 in front of Engle’s Harbor around 7 a.m. when Campbell’s GMC Yukon, headed east on Highway 20, turned in front of the emergency vehicle at Neher Road.

The Decatur Emergency Medical Service ambulance was not able to stop, hitting the Yukon and flipping it on its side.

Police say the ambulance was not running code, and by all indications, was going the speed limit.

The two DEMSI employees were hurt and were taken to Decatur General Hospital. Will Messman was not seriously hurt.  Cassey Rutherford has serious injuries and underwent surgery.

The two people inside the Yukon, Campbell and her passenger, Christine Booker, were also hurt.

Police say Campbell was arrested at the scene for driving under the influence.  She was then taken to Decatur General by ambulance for treatment, and later released.

Campbell’s passenger, Booker, was seriously hurt and was flown to Huntsville Hospital by Medflight.  As of Thursday morning, she was listed in fair condition.

Police continue to investigate the wreck, and say Campbell could face additional charges.

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MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY – A Mercy Regional Ambulance was involved in a crash Monday morning near Ledbetter.

According to the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department, the ambulance was responding to an incident at National Maintenance Barge Repair. As the ambulance arrived at National Maintenance’s drive, an employee directing traffic waved the ambulance across.

A car driven by 23-year-old Adam Dublin of Benton hit the back passenger side of the ambulance as it crossed the street, according to the sheriff’s department. Dublin told deputies he’d looked down to pick up a cigarette lighter and didn’t see the ambulance.

The ambulance driver, another paramedic, and Dublin were all taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

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Orangeburg County, SC –

A 79-year-old Vance woman died Monday when the ambulance transporting her was involved in an accident, S.C. Lance Cpl. Judd Jones said.

Mary Thompson, 79, of Buckeye Court died as a result of blunt force trauma sustained in the accident, Orangeburg County Coroner Samuetta Marshall said.

The single-vehicle crash happened around 9:20 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 301 and Homestead Road about eight miles north of Orangeburg.

The driver of the Orangeburg County ambulance, 29-year-old Sean Ratcliff of Lexington, and EMS crew member Kayla Mowrey, 21, were both transported to the Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Jones said the ambulance left the right side of the road, crossed back over both lanes and into the median before overturning.

The cause of the crash is still undetermined. The S.C. Highway Patrol is currently reconstructing the crash.

CORNING, NY (WENY-TV)—New York State Police are investigating a hit and run on I-86. A tractor-trailer hit an ambulance and kept on going. The crash sent one EMS worker to the hospital.

The first responders are recovering tonight and they’re wondering how the driver behind that tractor-trailer could just drive off.

The two EMT?s from Greater Valley EMS were returning from Rochester on I-86. Between exits 46 and 47 eastbound, they noticed the tractor-trailer in front of them was swerving in and out of lanes.

When they tried to pass, the truck swerved into their lane, hitting the ambulance.

That impact sent the ambulance into the concrete barrier, slamming it three times. The tractor-trailer did not stop.

“Well, it would’ve been nice if the tractor trailer had stopped. I don’t know if he realized it didn’t happen or, I can only assume he didn’t realize it happened. So, unfortunately we don’t have the other vehicle that was involved in the accident,” says Pamela Mott, executive director of Greater Valley EMS.

Pam says it will cost her non-profit group tens of thousands of dollars to fix the ambulance.

If you know anything about the accident, please give New York State Police a call at 607-962-686

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[Port Saint Joe, FL] The (now) former Gulf County Emergency Medical Services Director has been arrested for using the county-issued credit card for personal purchases.

Last week, James Shane McGuffin, 39, of Port Saint Joe, was arrested by the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Pensacola Regional Operations Center. McGuffin was charged with grand theft, which is a third-degree felony.

Last year, the FDLE had gotten a complaint that McGuffin – then the acting director for the county’s EMS department – was using his county credit card to purchase items for personal use. An investigation was launched and it was determined that McGuffin had indeed misused the card, charging up $1,108 in unauthorized goods and services.

He was booked and released but still faces the wrath of the State Attorney’s Office.

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PORT HURON, MI – An ambulance out of Huron County transporting a patient to a hospital in Port Huron was involved in a three-vehicle accident about 4:15 p.m. today on southbound 24th Avenue just north of Krafft Road.

The ambulance was southbound in the passing lane of 24th Avenue with its lights on when a southbound black Jeep Wrangler attempted to enter the passing lane to make a left turn, said St. Clair County Sheriff Lt. Mark Dedenbach said.

It’s unknown if the ambulance had its sirens on, Dedenbach said.

The driver of the Jeep, a 43-year-old Brockway Township man, did not see the ambulance in the lane, Dedenbach said. The vehicles collided briefly before the Jeep made impact with a southbound silver Ford Focus.

The glass on both windows of the driver’s side of the vehicle was broken as a result of the accident.

The driver of the Focus, a 39-year-old Port Huron man, was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, Dedenbach said.

The patient in the ambulance involved in the accident did not receive additional injuries as a result of the accident, Dedenbach said.

Citations have yet to be issued as the incident remains under investigation, Dedenbach said.

Fort Gratiot Fire Department assisted on scene. Northbound traffic on 24th Avenue was blocked for about two hours as crews investigated the accident.

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UPDATE: The Highway Patrol says Sarah Allen died Monday night from her injuries.

SHALLOTTE, NC — Brunswick County Emergency Services says two people were taken to the hospital after an ambulance ran a red light and hit a car at the intersection of US 17 and Main Street in Shallotte. It happened around 9 a.m.

Highway Patrol says the ambulance did not have its emergency response lights on and did not yield the right of way at the stoplight.

Rescue crews had to cut the driver of the car involved in the crash out of the vehicle. That driver was airlifted to New Hanover Regional, Brunswick County Emergency Services Director Anthony Marzano said.

Marzano said the ambulance crew from Amera-Tech was taking a non-emergency case to a hospital when it happened. The patient was taken by a Brunswick County ambulance to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington.

Highway Patrol says the driver of the ambulance was cited for failure to stop at a red light.

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CLARKSBURG, WV – Emergency crews responded to a fatal accident involving an ambulance Sunday night. The patient in the ambulance died, Clarksburg Police said.

It happened just after 9 p.m. at the Route 50-Interstate 79 interchange. Emergency services were transporting the patient from Doddridge County to United Hospital Center in Bridgeport for an unknown health problem.

Police said the ambulance went through a red light and a pickup truck struck it on its side. As a result, the ambulance fell onto its left side. No one else involved had any life-threatening injuries.

The law states ambulance drivers must take control of an intersection before proceeding through it, police said. They said the ambulance had its lights and siren on, but it didn’t have control of the intersection.

Clarksburg Police, Fire and Harrison County EMS responded.

Authorities called in an accident re-constructionist.

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Another Metro Emergency Medical Services employee has been fired after failing a drug test.

LOUISVILLE, KY – Robert Gant was fired Sept. 23 after he submitted to a mandatory drug test that all EMS employees are undergoing in the wake of some recent drug-related discipline in the agency.

According to Gant’s termination letter, he tested positive for marijuana. Gant was an emergency medical technician who joined the service in August 2005.

Gant was one of five employees who had been suspended without pay in July while under a Louisville Metro Police investigation that involved allegations about “the distribution/illegal use of controlled substances,” according to his suspension letter.

As part of that investigation, Gant submitted to a drug test, but nothing was detected, said Dr. Neal Richmond, head of Metro EMS.

Four of the employees, including Gant, were cleared of the allegations against them by police and Gant was cleared to return to work on Aug. 31. The fifth employee, Joseph Bratcher, was fired Aug. 9 when he tested positive for marijuana in his drug test.

Once Gant returned to work, he was given a drug test on Sept. 14 as part of the Metro EMS effort to screen all employees. That’s when he tested positive for marijuana, according to his termination letter.

Metro EMS began the screening in response to several incidents involving drugs, including the suspension of the five employees, the August firing of a major and a drunken-driving incident involving another employee.

On Aug. 8, Maj. Roger Parvin was fired for policy violations involving the handling of controlled substances. An internal investigation into Parvin began after he was involved in a rollover accident in his department vehicle.

That investigation led to the discovery of 180 missing vials of controlled substances that were expiring and that Parvin was in charge of having destroyed in his role, managing the department’s controlled substances.

When questioned about the missing vials, Parvin admitted they were at his home. EMS officials went to retrieve the vials, but not all of the vials were found.

He was fired and Louisville Metro Police are continuing to investigate the case for possible criminal violations.

In another case, Alex Brown was arrested on July 16 and charged with drunken-driving while he was off duty. He was involved in a non-injury accident observed by a sheriff’s deputy and cited after failing field sobriety tests.

Brown was suspended after the arrest and then took a leave of absence from the service.

Richmond said the service instituted an “aggressive policy” on drug testing to try to weed out abuse by his employees providing medical services. In addition to the testing, Richmond said the service is trying to revamp some policies to create a better process for self-reporting addiction or drug abuse.

“We’re digging in really deeply,” he said. “We’re intentionally rooting it out and finding it.”

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