By Irene Wright
The Charlotte Observer
MARION COUNTY, Fla. — An ambulance responding to a call in Florida was hit at an intersection, rolling the vehicle and sending 15 people to a hospital, fire rescue says.
Paramedics were responding to a medical call outside Ocala on the morning of Nov. 28 when their vehicle was hit in a crash that also involved a pickup truck and a small bus, according to a news release from the Marion County Fire Rescue Department.
The crash rolled the EMS vehicle and crushed the front of the bus, photos shared by the department show.
Firefighters were on the scene minutes later from a nearby fire station, the department said.
“A total of 15 patients were transported by MCFR to local hospitals: 2 MCFR firefighters, 11 special needs students on the bus, the bus driver and the driver of the pickup truck,” the department said. “Eight of the students were transported as a precaution while 3 had minor injuries.”
The two firefighters were hospitalized with minor injuries, according to the fire rescue.
The condition of the pickup truck driver was not released.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. No charges have been announced as of Nov. 28.
“MCFR would like to remind our citizens to yield to emergency vehicles as our lights and sirens are on,” the department said.
Marion County is about 100 miles northeast of Tampa.
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