Executive secretary Jim Cubbage says questions first surfaced after a January accident that injured three members of a Millsboro ambulance crew. Last week, an ambulance accident near Angola killed a Sussex County paramedic and an 82-year-old Lewes woman. The patient compartment was ripped open when the driver swerved to avoid a deer and hit a tree.
A recent evaluation by Fire Chief, a magazine for fire and ambulance crews, concluded that ambulances have a higher fatality and injury rate per mile than other emergency vehicles. The report found occupants of patient compartments in box-style vehicles are poorly protected during side-impact crashes.
Information from: The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal, http://www.delawareonline.com
