A Sacramento Sheriff's deputy and two emergency medical personnel were taken to a Carmichael hospital yesterday after their vehicles crashed into one another as each responded to emergencies.
The collision shortly after 1:30 p.m. occurred at the intersection of Garfield Avenue and Winding Way in Carmichael as each was using lights and siren -- signifying a Code 3 response -- while answering the separate calls for help, said Sheriff's Department Spokesman Deputy Jason Ramos.
Ramos said the ambulance, which had no patient on board, rolled onto its side upon impact. Both the paramedic and emergency medical technician inside were able to climb out of the ambulance, he said.
The medical personnel in the ambulance, employees of the ambulance company AMR, suffered minor to moderate injuries, said the company's West Coast spokesman Jason Sorrick.
The ambulance was headed west on Winding Way approaching Garfield, just before impact, Ramos said.
At the same time, the sheriff's deputy was headed north on Garfield, approaching Winding Way, just before the crash. The deputy had to be extricated from the squad car due to front-end damage, Ramos said.
"They were unable to avoid each other at the intersection," Ramos said. "There were no other vehicles and no pedestrians involved. No one (else) was injured."
Officer Liz Dutton, spokesman for the CHP in the north area, said preliminary information from the crash site indicates that the ambulance driver had the green light. But Dutton said also that the deputy had slowed his car as he approached the cross street, apparently looked for traffic, and then "accelerated through" the intersection.
Ramos said the procedure for Code 3 is to stop at a light-controlled intersection such as the one at Garfield and Winding Way "to make sure it's clear."
The deputy, a 13-year veteran, was "banged up" in the crash, but injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Ramos said. He said it was unclear if the officer would be admitted overnight to Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael.
The ambulance drivers also were being treated at the hospital, Ramos said.
The crash is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol, Ramos said.
He said the deputy was responding to a request for Code 3 backup from another officer. The ambulance driver was responding to a request for medical aid. AMR spokesman Sorrick said a second ambulance was immediately dispatched to answer the medical aid call.
The deputy's identity was withheld until family members could be advised of the crash, Ramos said.
Sorrick said the ambulance company is prevented by privacy regulations from providing the names of the injured medical personnel.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
