An ambulance crashed into a lamp standard on a busy Vancouver street early Tuesday, Oct. 3 morning, resulting in two injuries.
An ambulance with five people on board, including a patient who was being transported between hospitals, a nurse escort, and three paramedics, collided with a pole in the 1100 block of West Broadway just after 5 a.m. The ambulance was operating lights and sirens at the time of the incident., BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) Communications Officer Cindy Leong told V.I.A.
BCEHS dispatched two ambulances to the scene and transported two people to hospital, including a patient and one paramedic, but their injuries "are not considered serious." After they received treatment, the paramedic was released from the hospital.
"The safety of our patients and paramedics is paramount and we will be reaching out to the patient for any follow-up that might be required. Additionally, a BCEHS manager will be following up with the paramedics involved, to ensure they are receiving the support they need," Leong said.
BCEHS has also launched a review of the incident.
Drugs and alcohol 'not considered contributing factors' in crash
Vancouver Police Department (VPD) Cst. Tania Vistintin told V.I.A. that officers attended the scene and confirmed that no one inside the ambulance sustained any major injuries, adding that "drugs and alcohol are not considered contributing factors to the collision."
Vancouverite Stanley Q. Woodvine captured the aftermath of the collision in a video he shared on social media. He told V.I.A. that he didn't witness the incident but heard an ambulance siren roughly half an hour before he recorded the footage.
"This accident was on the north side of the block and just behind where I was standing there was a person balled up in a blanket, sleeping rough in a tiny sheltered alcove. I nearly propped my bike on them. The crash must [have] scared the heck out of them," he described.
#Ambulance hits light pole in 1100 block of W Broadway. Hope there were no injuries. #Vancouver #traffic #accident #mva pic.twitter.com/y05l7SzT95
— Stanley Q Woodvine (@sqwabb) October 3, 2023
