Robert A. Cronkleton
The Kansas City Star
(TNS)
A paramedic with the Johnson County, Missouri, Ambulance District remained in the hospital following a rollover crash that killed a patient and injured another crew member, the chief of the ambulance district said Monday.
“The captain paramedic that was attending the patient was admitted overnight and he had some lacerations to his head and other injuries,” said Chief Shane Lockard with the Johnson County Ambulance District. “We’re waiting this morning to find out what the next step is.”
The other crew member, an emergency medical technician who was driving, was released from the hospital. “She’s banged up and sore, but she’s doing OK,” Lockard said.
The identity of the patient was being withheld until family was notified, Lockard said. He said the hearts of the members of the ambulance district go out to the friends and family of the patient as they mourn the loss of their loved one.
The ambulance was heading northbound on U.S. 71 as it crosses over Bannister Road shortly after 4 p.m. The EMT driving the ambulance lost control and the ambulance ran off the road and overturned twice. The patient was pronounced dead at the scene. The EMT driver and the paramedic were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.
The crash remains under investigation and no cause has yet been determined, said Sgt. Deb Randol with the Kansas City Police Department’s accident investigation unit. They are looking into whether wind gusts could have caused the driver to lose control on the overpass.
The ambulance district is cooperating with Kansas City police to investigate the cause of the wreck, Lockard said.
At the time of the crash, the ambulance crew were taking the patient as an emergency, but it did not warrant lights or sirens to be used, Lockard said. He declined to release further information about the patient for privacy reasons.
The ambulance district is making sure its crew members’ injuries are being taken care of, Lockard said. It will also provide follow up mental health services to help them deal with the traumatic event.
The EMT driver, as a part of standard procedure, will be placed on paid administrative leave while the nature and cause of the crash is investigated, he said.
The EMT driver has been with the ambulance district since October. The paramedic has been with the ambulance district since May 2015.
The ambulance district, which was established in 2002, provides emergency medical services to Johnson County, Missouri. It staffs five ambulances 24 hours a day out of five facilities — two in Warrensburg, and one each in Holden, Pittsville and Knob Noster. It also staffs a sixth ambulance 12 hours a day as needed.
The district has around 45 full-time and 20 part-time employees who respond to about 10,000 calls a year, Lockard said. It hasn’t been determined if the ambulance is a total loss, but it is believed to be unrecoverable.
The district is in the process of evaluating its ambulance needs. It does have a fleet of backup ambulances that can be pulled into service, but that is normally for a shorter period of time, he said.
While the ambulance was insured, any amount received won’t cover replacement costs due to the ambulance’s age, Lockard said. The ambulance is a 2014 model and was one of 12 ambulances in the district’s fleet. Because of a backorder of ambulances, it could take two years to get a new ambulance manufactured.
“There is a significant delay and shortage, particularly of Dodge and Ford chassis vehicles,” he said.
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