Ambulance Hits Car, Injuring 4, 1 Seriously

A woman was critically injured and three others were hurt when an ambulance transporting a heart patient ran a stop sign in Glendale and hit a compact passenger car broadside, police said.

The most seriously hurt was the 20-year-old driver of the car who was trapped and appeared to be in excruciating pain for about 40 minutes, said Chahe Keuroghelian, spokesman for the Glendale Police Department. Rescuers had to remove the roof of the vehicle to free the woman, who was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Names of the injured were not released.

The driver of the ambulance and a 21-year-old female passenger in the car were treated at Verdugo Hills Hospital for minor injuries and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Two other people--an 11-year-old boy in the car and the 85-year-old male heart patient--were taken to Glendale Adventist Hospital. The boy was reported in good condition and the heart patient was not injured, a hospital spokesman said.

The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m., minutes after the ambulance left Glendale Adventist to move the heart patient to a convalescent home. The ambulance was traveling south on North Chevy Chase Drive when it ran a stop sign and hit the car traveling east on California Avenue, police said.

The ambulance, owned by American Medical Response, was serving as a private transport and was not using emergency lights or sirens, said Lawrence Monson, vice president of administration for the company.

Monson said the company is conducting its own investigation into the incident. He said such accidents are “very rare.”.”