BRIDGEWATER, NS — A female patient was killed and two paramedics injured Wednesday when the ambulance they were in went off a Nova Scotia highway and flipped into woods.
RCMP Sgt. Mark Gallagher said they don’t yet know what caused the vehicle to veer into the oncoming lane at about 10:30 a.m. and then plunge into a ditch along Highway 103 near the Hubbards exit.
“The vehicle went left of centre and into a wooded area,” he said. “There’s no reason that we determine at this point as to why that would happen. We need to speak to the driver.”
Gallagher said the paramedic driver was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries to his legs.
The other paramedic was riding in the back with the patient when the accident occurred. He was also taken to hospital with less serious injuries.
The 53-year-old woman, who has not been identified, was being transferred from hospital in Halifax to a hospital in Bridgewater, N.S., at the time of the crash.
Gallagher said an autopsy will determine whether her death was caused by the accident or her pre-existing health condition.
Police said the conditions at the time of the accident were good and that there was only a car following the health services vehicle.
The ambulance “flipped over and it wedged itself between a couple of trees and hit a rock,” said Gallagher.
He added it could be a couple of days before they can interview the ambulance driver, who will be undergoing surgery.
“We are co-operating fully with the RCMP,” said Emergency Heath Services spokesman Paul Maynard, who explained that police are now in charge of the investigation and determining what caused the accident.
Standing at the point where the ambulance is believed to have left the pavement, Maynard said the vehicle could not be seen for the trees and bushes.
Both paramedics are men in their mid-20s and have each worked for the ambulance company for some time and are experienced in handling emergency vehicles, Maynard said.
Investigators will also be looking at the condition of the ambulance, Maynard confirmed.
Each ambulance carries a black box which will provide officials with critical information from the vehicle’s onboard electronics such as how fast the vehicle was travelling and whether it was using lights and sirens.
But unlike black boxes in commercial airliners, communication between the paramedics on board would not have been recorded.
Maintenance records for the vehicle will also be inspected, Maynard said.
“We have a very extensive preventative maintenance program,” he explained. “There wouldn’t be an ambulance on the road that has any sort of maintenance issue that we are aware of.”