Look once, twice, thrice or you might not see and crash

[spenac]

I am sorry for this familys extreme loss. Sounds like from multiple sources that they pulled ambulance out in front of car. Who knows what factors may have been in play that led to this error? But are we careful no matter how tired? Do we drive distracted? Really this article should lead to good discussion of driving habits not an attack on the crew of this particular ambulance. If you are not one of the crew on that ambulance you can not make a direct statement about the wreck, but you can discuss possibilitys. Poll is to get you to think about your habits, do you rely on first glance, etc?

http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/News/A1-2...y-Christmas-Day

Updated Thursday, December 25, 2008 7:37 PM

MARY JANE FARMER / HERALD DEMOCRAT

Shreveport family perished in a two-vehicle accident.

Bonham fatality Christmas Day

BY MARY JANE FARMER

HERALD DEMOCRAT

LEONARD -- A Shreveport family perished Christmas morning in a two-vehicle accident that also injured two men with the Bonham Fire Department. Pronounced dead were Pamela Kay Touart, 59, and her twin sons, Cameron Wayne Boudreau and Kipp Leonard Boudreau, 29 years old.

According to Leonard Police Officer Kim Dillard, the wreck happened at 6:05 a.m., at FM 981 and U.S. Highway 69. Her report stated that the EMS crew had responded to an emergency near FM 981, but it was one not requiring a patient to be taken by ambulance to a hospital. So, Dillard said, the men were headed back to their Leonard station. The ambulance, a 1995 model, was driven by EMT Ronald Van Ryan and also occupied by paramedic Cory King.

Dillard said the ambulance traveled north on FM 981 until it came to the U.S. 69 intersection, where the 2005 Chevrolet Malibu was headed north on the way to Madill, Okla.

"It appears that the EMS ambulance pulled up to the stop sign at U.S.. 69," Dillard explained. "They began to pull out and turn left and the driver failed to see the approaching Chevrolet."

The Chevrolet's front left side hit the ambulance in the passenger side door. Both vehicles traveled to the north side of the road and left the pavement.

The ambulance came to rest in a ditch laying on its right side. Dillard said the Chevrolet came to a rest on the inside of a private fence in the same area.

Bonham Fire Chief Bill Palya said that after the EMS men called in the wreck, another of their ambulances, which was returning from a Dallas run, was only five minutes away and answered the call for help. That ambulance took Van Ryan and King to Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman, where they were treated and later released, Palya said.

The Chevrolet occupants were all pronounced dead at the scene by Fannin County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Joe Dale. He had all three's bodies sent to the Dallas Medical Examiners Office.

Dillard said the family has been notified and has been in touch with Leonard police.

First responders also included Trenton firefighters and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers. Palya said that all indications from first responders are that none of the deceased had been wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

Texoma comments ...

3 comment found!

: 12/26/2008

Many times death is swift and unexpected. Be prepared and ask the lord to be ruler of your life so that the next life is with God without a doubt.

concerned for your ETERNAL life

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: 12/26/2008

I knew kip and cameron. They were as different from each other as they could be except one thing, They were fun to hang out with. I'll miss you guys.

tara

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: 12/26/2008

The next time we complain about not having something we would like to have (like a big screen TV or new car), let's think about this family and be grateful for what we DO have instead of worrying about what we do not have!

A Saddened Citizen

[JPINFV]

Unprotected left turns are fun.

Check left, check right, pull out if I think I have enough time to make it through the intersection (I'm amazingly bad at judging closing times and tend to wait for the car(s) to pass if I have any second thoughts), check left as pulling through the first set of lanes, check right as I pull into my lane.

[Dustdevil]

A fire department is driving a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD ambulance? WTF? :shock:

Fire chief FAIL!

[under-dreaming]

Look left,

Look right,

Look left.

then maybe right again.

And always wear a seat belt!

I often ask my partner if it is "clear right" from his perspective before I enter an intersection as well. Or they just know to say it.

[Richard B the EMT]

A fire department is driving a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD ambulance? WTF? :shock:

Fire chief FAIL!

Admittedly different categories, but my mom is driving a 17 year old Toyota.

So? The ambulance works (or at least it did until the accident), and nobody seemed to be complaining. As long as it was not an old fashioned Caddylance (I miss working in one of those!), why not? Saves the purchase price, until and unless the maintenance costs are costing more than a new purchase would.

[spenac]

Admittedly different categories, but my mom is driving a 17 year old Toyota.

So? The ambulance works (or at least it did until the accident), and nobody seemed to be complaining. As long as it was not an old fashioned Caddylance (I miss working in one of those!), why not? Saves the purchase price, until and unless the maintenance costs are costing more than a new purchase would.

I agree this time age of equipment does not seem to be the issue. Either driver error or a blind/bad intersection caused this accident.

[Dustdevil]

I agree this time age of equipment does not seem to be the issue. Either driver error or a blind/bad intersection caused this accident.

I did not mean to imply that it was a factor in this incident. I was merely commenting as a side issue. There is no excuse for a 14 year old municipal ambulance. That is not a tiny, one-horse town. Keeping an ambulance that old on the line is a very clear FAILURE of management.

[Eydawn]

If the vehicle still runs in top form, and has been well maintained and kept stocked correctly, then there's no issue as far as I see it. Hell, it's probably in better shape than some of the rural FD vehicles that are newer in my area... simply because it's used more often.

As far as looking... left, right, left, ask partner if I'm clear while still looking left, pull out, look right, look left again, and proceed through if I'm totally sure I'm clear. I hate driving the giant flashy billboard... people want to HIT it! Scares the hell out of me.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[Chief1C]

If anything, IMO, an older ambulance would be easier to navigate with, easier to see out of. I drove our brand-spankin new ambulance the other day. It's like trying to drive a tank, huge, it sits 6" higher than its near-twin, wider, bigger mirrors. Of course, I usually don't drive.