By Brad Devereaux
mlive.com
BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. — Two paramedics seriously injured in a crash while responding to an emergency call are now in stable condition, according to the ambulance company.
Medic 1 provided an update on the crash victims at 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 16.
The crash happened at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, on M-139 near East Empire Avenue, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office said.
A northbound Medic 1 ambulance was responding with lights and sirens activated when it crashed with a school bus at the intersection. The school bus then crashed head-on with another school bus, police said previously.
“When you look at the amount of damage to the Medic 1 rig, we are very fortunate that no one was more severely injured,” Sheriff Chuck Heit said, though it was unfortunate it did cause some injuries.
The paramedics suffered internal injuries and lower extremity injuries, police said.
“It’s just something you don’t want to see,” Heit said, considering the amount of damage to the ambulance and the fact that it also involved two school buses.
The front of the ambulance had heavy front-end damage from the crash.
While paramedics usually respond alongside police and firefighters to help people, the crash stopped them from making it to their destination Wednesday.
“It’s just a reminder to pay attention to what’s going on,” Heit said. “From a first responder standpoint, we have our lights and sirens on, but due care and caution is still a responsibility of ours.”
Heit said he was glad the school buses weren’t fully loaded with kids and people on the buses only had minor injuries. None of the four students onboard were injured, police said.
The crash occurred when one school bus was proceeding east through the intersection after the light turned green, police said.
The second bus was stationary and waiting to turn, Heit said.
A crash reconstructionist was working on the investigation Thursday, and there were no other updates, Heit said. The department may have an update in the future, he said.
“In times like these, we encourage the community to keep all those affected in your thoughts as they recover,” Medic 1 said on social media.
MLive has reached out to the ambulance company for comment.
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