Man Dies in Crash with Oklahoma City Ambulance

A man was killed Saturday in Oklahoma City when the car he was driving collided with an ambulance that was en route to an emergency call, authorities said.

The two vehicles were going in the same direction when the motorist turned into the ambulance’s path near a convenience store, police Sgt. Greg Driskill said.

“The car made a left, apparently going into the (convenience) store,” he said. “The ambulance was going around, passing cars on the left as they often do” at a stop light.

Driskill said the ambulance had both its lights and siren activated when the crash occurred around 10:30 a.m.

The name of the man killed was not immediately released.

Emergency Medical Services Authority spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said an emergency medical technician driving the ambulance and a paramedic and a medical student who were passengers were not seriously injured in the accident. Their names and conditions were not immediately released.

O’Leary said she did not know the nature of the emergency call that the ambulance was trying to answer. She said the deadly collision highlights why drivers should be aware of – and prepared for – emergency vehicles.

“Motorists should be alert to the sirens and pull to the right and stay pulled to the right until the emergency vehicles pass by,” she said.

Counselors have been made available to the three people who were in the ambulance. “Obviously it’s a painful day for them,” O’Leary said. “They know it can happen. Everyone hopes it won’t.”