Wednesday, May 18, 2011
** Phoenix paramedics escape with only minor injuries after emergency run rear ending
** Female New Zealand paramedic praised for avoiding head-on crash, saving driver’s life
UNITED STATES NEWS
** Five Phoenix, Arizona paramedic/firefighters escaped with their lives Saturday, after a car rear ended an EMS unit on an emergency run. Fox 10 News (May 15) said the morning lights and sirens run-in occurred as the ambulance was just approaching the emergency room entrance. The unit was loaded with an air conditioner repair man who had been electrocuted;he did not survive. Three of the paramedics onboard the prehospital rig sustained minor injuries.
NEW ZEALAND NEWS
** A female Taupo paramedic is being praised for saving the life of an out-of-control motorist that forced her EMS unit from the road Friday. The Sunday News (May 15) said the unidentified medic’s quick wits saw her swerve the ambulance to avoid a head-on collision with the car which brambled down a nearby bank. Sustaining most of the force on the EMS unit’s driver’s side, the impact also avoided injuring a nurse in the rig’s passenger seat. Lauded for lessening the severity of the accident, the paramedic has also been publicly commended for rendering lifesaving aid to the car driver. St. John Rotorua manager Norm Riedinger said a frontal impact would likely have resulted in fatalities.
