Ambulance Driver in Crash Is Fired
The driver of a private ambulance that ran a red light in Northridge earlier this month, slamming into a van and killing a Van Nuys father and daughter, has been fired by his company, authorities said.
Luis Schaeffer, 21, told detectives he failed to obey the MedTrans of California Inc. policy of slowing down or stopping before going through a red light.
Officials from MedTrans--the company that owned the ambulance--declined to comment.
More details about Schaeffer’s involvement in the accident that killed Ismael Podaca, 39, and his 8-year-old daughter, Rosa, could not be disclosed yet, said Det. Greg Pfeifle, of the LAPD Valley Traffic Division. A criminal investigation is pending, he said.
The accident occurred in the early morning of May 13 at the corner of Corbin Avenue and Nordhoff Street. Police said Schaeffer traveled through the light at about 45 mph, broadsiding the 1996 Dodge van that Podaca was driving.
Podaca’s 2-year-old daughter, also a passenger in the van, survived the accident, authorities said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
