Usually at an accident scene, you see an ambulance there to transport patients. On Tuesday afternoon, the ambulance was part of the accident.
A Quality Care ambulance was involved in a fiery crash on eastbound Interstate 40 near the Strawberry Plains exit Tuesday afternoon. Three people -- the driver, a paramedic and the patient -- were hurt.
The ambulance was en route westbound from Cocke County Hospital to Baptist Hospital. Witnesses said a westbound car swerved into the middle lane, causing the vehicle in the middle lane to swerve and hit the ambulance.
"After the Excursion hit the ambulance, the ambulance went through the median onto the eastbound lanes, clipped another vehicle going eastbound and then rolled onto the shoulder of the road, where it caught fire," said Darrell Debusk, a spokesperson for the Knoxville Police Department.
Debusk said it's too early to tell why the ambulance caught fire.
The ambulance involved was a Ford Econoline 350. There was oxygen on board, and the ambulance was diesel-driven.
Ambulance personnel Anthony Stevenson and Lindy Swain are both in stable condition. The condition of the patient is not known. The driver of the ambulance is credited with getting the other two to safety and trying to put out the fire.
