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Ambulance driver, 81, idled after accident
internal probe conducted
NORTH LIMA
An 81-year-old Beaver Township ambulance driver who sideswiped a car earlier this week is no longer permitted to drive fire department vehicles, said the township fire chief.
“He is not on any type of leave from the fire department, but he is not driving any fire department vehicles until the investigation comes to a conclusion,” said Fire Chief Russ Osborne who, along with an assistant fire chief, is conducting the internal investigation.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol was called to the intersection of Western Reserve Road and South Avenue about 2 p.m. Monday. A patrol dispatcher said traffic was stopped in front of the ambulance in both eastbound lanes on Western Reserve Road when the ambulance approached the intersection and failed to slow for traffic in front of it.
A highway patrol report states that the ambulance driver, Alfred Davidson of Canfield, swerved to the left to avoid the traffic and sideswiped a car driven by a 45-year-old Mineral Ridge woman. The ambulance driver was determined to be at fault, according to reports.
In addition to the driver, the ambulance contained a patient, paramedic and emergency medical technician, Osborne said.
“In this case, no one was injured. There was a patient on board who was properly restrained. The woman in the car signed a refusal of treatment form,” he said.
As soon as the accident occurred, the ambulance driver called Beaver Township dispatchers, who sent the department’s second ambulance to continue transporting the patient to the hospital, Osborne said.
“In this situation, we call OSP to write the report rather than a local department to preclude conflicts, and it’s turned over to the township’s insurance agency,” Osborne said.
The entire fire department goes through emergency vehicle training at least once a year, so that all staff members are prepared and qualified to drive, he said.
“Prior to this accident, he was fully qualified to drive,” Osborne said of the ambulance driver.
He added that in his four years with the Beaver Township fire department, this is the first time anything like this has happened.
“All [responders in] emergency service vehicles are require to drive with due regard,” Osborne said. “... The whole scenario is under review. I’m thankful no one was hurt.”