St. Paul Woman Killed By Ambulance

[Dustdevil]

No excuses. Someone needs to be fired and prosecuted.

http://kstp.com/news/stories/s988633.shtml

St. Paul Woman Killed by Ambulance

(See video at link)

A 79-year-old woman was run over and killed Saturday night by an ambulance responding to a car accident in St. Paul.

Police said Margaret Adele Kuehn, 79, of St. Paul, was hit by the ambulance as it was backing up in an alley.

A car had crashed through a fence in the alley, which is located near the Mississippi River where Randolph and James Avenues meet, not far from Kuehn's home.

Witnesses said Kuehn left her home to see what had happened and find out if she could help.

In a news release Sunday, police said they believe Kuehn was unaware of the presence of the ambulance, and that the driver, a St. Paul firefighter, did not see her walk from between some garages into the alley.

Kuehn died at the scene.

St. Paul Police said they will "fully investigate the circumstances of this tragic accident."

The ambulance was taken out of service for inspection, which is standard procedure for city vehicles involved in fatal crashes. The Fire Department will conduct a separate internal review.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Dustdevil

[VentMedic]

The alley:

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/woman-st...cid=VIDLRVNWS03

[Arctickat]

Truly unfortunate, Prayers to the family and to the EMS crew. There are gonna be many questions for this investigation, such as

• Was there an audible reverse warning device?
  
• Was there a rear view camera on the ambulance?
  
• How fast was the ambulance backing up?
  
• How quickly did the woman move behind the ambulance?
  
• Who was guiding the ambulance as it was backing up?
  

[Dustdevil]

I have worked with a disturbing number of partners who either physically disabled the back-up alarm at the beginning of their shift, or automatically reached down to turn it off every time they (or I) went into reverse, no matter the situation. That's automatic termination in my world.

I'm curious if there were two people in the ambulance at the time, or if one was already at the scene while the driver tried to manoeuvre closer. Either way, considering there was apparently not even a patient from the original incident, there seems to be no excuse for backing down the alley unguided.

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/mi...ig_June_20_2009

Woman Run Over by Saint

Paul Ambulance Dies

Rescue Crews Lift the EMS Rig Off Off Victim

Published : Saturday, 20 Jun 2009, 7:39 PM CDT

A woman has died after being run over by an ambulance from the St. Paul Fire Department. Police tell FOX 9 it happened in the back of the Walgreen’s drug store at Snelling and Randolph in St. Paul after 6:00 Saturday night. Initially, the EMS squad was responding to the call of a driver that had driven through a fence near the store. After the squad arrived, it began backing into an alley and ran over the elderly woman who had come out of her nearby house to see what had happened. The 79-year old woman was pinned underneath and died at the scene. Witnesses say the emergency responders on the scene actually lifted the EMS rig off the victim to free her. The ambulance crew involved in the accident will undergo counseling. Mayor Chris Coleman issued a statement that expressed sympathy for the victim's family and the paramedic crew. Coleman says authorities will fully investigate the circumstances of the accident.

[Diazepam618]

This is a unfortunate situation, however very preventable with the use of a backer, I know my department has a backing policy in place, audible, code lights, and backer (which must be visable at all times) before any movement takes place.

Hopefully this will create a department policy and or the use of a civil suite may create such change.

[emtannie]

I have worked with a disturbing number of partners who either physically disabled the back-up alarm at the beginning of their shift, or automatically reached down to turn it off every time they (or I) went into reverse, no matter the situation. That's automatic termination in my world.

I agree with you (I know - amazing, isn't it... lol) but there is a good reason that those security features are in place, and a good reason that policies and procedures are in place for backing up with a spotter. Partners like that should be disciplined at minimum, and terminated if disciplinary action doesn't work.

I would like to know the same things Arctickat posted regarding backup alarms and a spotter.... if the driver was not following policy and procedures, they should be terminated.

[emsboy_2000]

I'll reserve judgment until the full details are disclosed; however, where the hell was the backer?

Edited June 23, 2009 by emsboy_2000