For $500, what a 19 y/o, an ambulance, and an iPod causes.

[JPINFV]

Cross posted from a different forum.

[web:6b5095b8cd]http://cmsimg.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=BH&Date=20080414&Category=NEWS03&ArtNo=804140383&Ref=AR&MaxW=318&Border=0[/web:6b5095b8cd]

WEST NYACK - An emergency service worker lost her right arm today after the ambulance in which she was a passenger crashed into a truck parked along Route 59 near the flyover to the Palisades Center mall.

Bonnie Ames, 20, was taken by helicopter to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla where she underwent surgery.

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"She's out of danger, but she lost her arm," Raymond Florida, director of Rockland Paramedic Services said early this evening.

"We used multiple units from the jaws of life to extricate her," West Nyack Fire Chief George Drescher said. "She appeared to be seriously injured."

The paramedic van driver, 19-year-old Scott Millard, was taken to Nyack Hospital and from there to Westchester Medical Center, said Clarkstown police Sgt. Harry Baumann.

Millard needed stitches to close a head wound.

The accident happened at 10:20 a.m. when a Regional EMS ambulance hit a Kamco Supply Corp. truck parked on Route 59 facing Nyack. The truck was parked near the car wash and Dunkin' Donuts, just past the Route 59 flyover to the Palisades Center.

The ambulance door was torn from the vehicle and stuck on the edge of the truck.

The accident's cause remains under investigation. Police said the driver and passenger from EMS Regional were not responding to a call during the time of the accident.

Route 59 was closed in both directions to create a landing area for the helicopter, police said. The road was closed from ShopRite to the Route 59 turnoff to Route 303.

Police said the truck driver, Sam Lalmahabir, 46, of Richmond Hills, was in the truck's cab when the accident occurred. He was uninjured.

Read more about this story tomorrow in The Journal News.

[spenac]

First I hope she recovers and adapts to life w/o an arm.

Wow 19 and driving. We really need to raise the age to drive to 25. Not responding to a call and hit parked truck. Wonder if texting and driving caused this tragedy.

[JPINFV]

According to a poster on another forum that "knows the driver," the driver was playing with an iPod.

[AZCEP]

Not to argue, but if they were both in the front of the vehicle wouldn't the passenger also be responsible for alerting the driver to the possibility of the accident?

Do you suppose there is more than one at fault in this incident?

[JPINFV]

Sure, if the parked car some how jumped into the middle of the street. The passenger is at fault for letting the driver fiddle with his iPod in the first place. Besides that, and looking at the extent of the damage, I think that there is relatively little that the passenger could have done.

[Asysin2leads]

You know, I think its ironic, for the amount of calls and the environment I work in, that the worst ambulance incident of the year in New York State happens in Rockland county.

I guess this is a prime example of the real dangers EMS providers face and why proper training of providers cannot be understated. I'd rather work in the ghetto with a partner I know and trust than in the most pristine example of suburbia with one I don't. Godspeed recovery to the injured medic.

[spenac]

According to a poster on another forum that "knows the driver," the driver was playing with an iPod.

DWD (Driving While Distracted) automatic grounds for me to say pull over so I can kick your butt. I do not tolerate my driver doing anything but driving. If I see anything else I am nice the first time I tell them to stop. If they ignore me and it happens again, it's on. I actually got someone fired for it recently. I take driving very serious and do not put up with DWD.

[VentMedic]

According to a poster on another forum that "knows the driver," the driver was playing with an iPod.

There doesn't seem to be an official report as to what actually caused the accident or where the blame will fall. Right now we the the word of someone who "knows the driver" and is quick to cast the blame toward him.

[JPINFV]

Ok, jumping on the iPod might be a little too premature, but it's kind of hard to absolve a driver who hit something that wasn't moving on the side of the road.

[VentMedic]

I was reading through some of the comments of the locals from that article who were also speculating about the trucks parked alongside of the road as well as a few other factors. If you can weed through the usual disgruntled ex-employees grapping the opportunity to bash their former employer, there are some good posts.