Jerzy Shedlock
The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
CLARK COUNTY, Wash. — A man reportedly driving erratically in Northeast Hazel Dell died Tuesday afternoon after his Saturn Ion sedan collided with an ambulance.
The dead man was identified as Michael E. Ryan, 41, of Vancouver.
Deputies were dispatched at 1:48 p.m. to the 3600 block of Northeast 78th Street for a report of a two-vehicle crash. Medics and firefighters responded to the call at the same time, according to emergency dispatch logs.
An AMR ambulance occupied by two paramedics was traveling east on 78th Street when it was struck by Ryan’s westbound sedan, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The ambulance was not on a call and there was no patient in the ambulance, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, which is in charge of the investigation.
First responders freed Ryan from the wreckage, which took an extended amount of time. Medics performed life-saving measures on the driver, but he was later pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the sheriff’s office.
The paramedics suffered injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening. They were taken by ambulance to a hospital for evaluation, according to AMR.
Deputies asked people to avoid the area while the crash was investigated. The eastbound lanes of 78th Street were closed at 25th Avenue; westbound traffic on 78th Street was blocked at Northeast St. Johns Boulevard, the sheriff’s office said. The road fully reopened by about 6 p.m.
The crash is being investigated by the Clark County Sheriff’s Traffic Unit.
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©2020 The Columbian (Vancouver, Wash.)