EDITOR’S NOTE: The RCMP initially said the ambulance was responding to a call for service at the time of the crash. On Feb. 19, police issued a correction to say it was not responding to a call at the time and did not have its lights or siren on. This article has been updated to reflect the new information.
RCMP said five people went to hospital after an ambulance crashed with an SUV west of Edmonton.
The crash happened Monday afternoon in Parkland County, south of Spruce Grove, at the intersection of Highway 627 (Garden Valley Road) at Range Road 273 (Golden Spike Road).
Mounties said the southbound SUV on the range road was crossing the 100 km/h speed limit highway when it collided with the eastbound ambulance, which had the right of way.
Get daily National news
The ambulance had been carrying three emergency medical personnel.
Police said the driver of the SUV and a passenger were airlifted by STARS Air Ambulance to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, and the ambulance workers were taken to area hospitals in other ambulances.
Alberta Health Services said the driver that was airlifted was in critical condition, while the other four people were taken to hospital in serious condition.
On Tuesday, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said one paramedic was sent home with minor injuries, another has moderate non-life-threatening injuries and the third is in stable condition.
An investigation will look at the actions of the SUV driver and why the vehicle failed to stop at the intersection, said Savinkoff.
“Is it simply a range road stop sign that they missed? Is it a situation where it was excessive speed that caused them to go through the intersection?” he said Tuesday.
“That’s what we’d be investigating to determine what caused that vehicle to not stop at that intersection.”
The intersection is a busy one in Parkland County, and is the site of a fatal crash back in November that claimed the life of a 18-year-old woman from Devon.
— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News
Comments