DETROIT – Questions arise over the frequent EMS crashes in Detroit, as the total has reached five in 2024.
Local 4 got answers on Monday (March 4) about the frequency of those crashes and the possible reasons why an ambulance and a sedan were involved in a crushing collision outside Sinai Grace Hospital.
In four of those crashes, the EMS crew was found to not be at fault.
Officials say running 24/7 is a big deal, as well as why ambulances are always out there.
Monday’s crash happened just before 7 a.m. at west Outer Drive and Schaefer Highway on the city’s west side when a Detroit EMS ambulance transporting a patient with non-life threatening injuries and a Buick collided at the intersection.
The collision was so hard it sent the car through the bus stop.
Last week, on Michigan Avenue and Lonyo Street, a car and a Detroit EMS ambulance collided. The driver of a silver car was injured.
It is early March, and so far, Detroit EMS has been involved in five crashes, four of which an investigation found the EMS crew was not at fault.
“Everyone goes through the drivers training program,” said Detroit EMS Chief Sean Larkins. “Constantly talking about accidents is always on the forefront of the mind of the responder, so it’s unfortunately one of those things. It is one of the amount of call volume that we have that happens.”
What exactly caused the crash Monday morning is still under investigation.
The Detroit EMS unit was on a code 3, which is a non-life-threatening transport of a patient.
The policy is for no lights or sirens for a code 3 run.
“Unfortunately, in the times we are in, everyone is preoccupied with texting, some have their music up too loud,” Larkins said. “Once you’re in a vehicle, you’re responsible for that vehicle, and we need everybody to just kind of pay a little bit more attention, especially when there’s an emergency vehicle in the area, and just slow down.”
Officials say the man and the woman who were inside the Buick were OK, but there was a minor thumb injury to one of the medics.
