Ambulance hit in suspected DUI

| 08/02/2012

IMG-20120207-00018 (250x221).jpg(CNS): A driver who was believed to have been drinking according to witnesses at the crash, collided with an ambulance last night at the junction of Smith Road and Bobby Tompson Way. The ambulance was also conveying a patient at the time of the smash on Tuesday evening at about 7pm. Although no one was seriously hurt in the collision another ambulance attended the scene to take the patient and the ambulance crew to the Cayman Islands hospital. Police have not yet confirmed the details of the incident or if the driver was arrested. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    I find it quite interesting that one witness says the ambulance hit the vehicle and another said that the vehicle hit the ambulance.  Just goes to prove that witness statements are unreliable.

  2. Anonymous says:

    The other day I moved over (as I thought was required by law) to let an ambulance pass. After the ambulance passed, I was trying to feed back into the lane, but apparently I wasn't fast enough because the idiot behind me (who also had to pull over to let the ambulance pass) was trying to pass me and we almost collided.

    What on earth is it that people acting like this important bulliens on the roads nowadays? Really, are they only getting gradification by overtaking someone thereby feeling they are smarter or are getting ahead????

    • Anonymous says:

      Same happened to me yesterday on the Harquail By-Pass, and by the time I reached the Compass Intersection the moron was immediately ahead of me waiting at the lights!

    • Anonymous says:

      I've had a similar experience, except that the driver immediately behind me, and sometimes one or two more, will actually overtake me as I am pulling over to let the ambulance pass.

  3. Anonymous says:

    DUI? This was about 7pm not the wee hours of the morning!

  4. Chicken feet says:

    Some people don’t have respect for anyone else on the road full stop. The people who fly down past red bay primary in the morning are prime examples of people who don’t care about anyone but themselves

    And the w*^#+r in the big red suv that drove past everyone waiting to get out of prospect drive and then flew down towards the school on the wrong side of the road will most likely kill someone soon. The fact that he/she then actually pulled into the school says it all really, I fear for the idiots kids.

  5. Anonymous says:

    Basically, if you hit an ambulance or cop car, you should probably never drive again.

    • Duh! says:

      So you were there, then?  The photograph looks as though the ambulance hit the car, not the other way around.   And as to the otherposters here, there is nothing other than "witness" statements as to whether the driver was drunk, or even whether the ambulance had its siren on, or whether the light was green or red against the car or the ambulance.    If you have sirens and lights going you are allowed to proceed through a red light, but not without checking that other traffic has stopped!  There is certainly nothing to suggest that the car driver was breath tested (or the ambulance driver for that matter).  Just because one vehicle was an emergency vehicle does not automatically meant that the other vehicle driver is in the wrong and /or drunk.  If he failed to stop given adequate warning, or if he was drunk, by all means throw the book at him, but do not try and convict him just because the other vehicle has a blue light on the roof.

      • Anonymous says:

        I passed by that intersection when Denny was there taking the photo and the ambulance hit the side of the SUV! 

      • Anonymous says:

        You are absolutely right.  I there was an olympic game for jumping to conclusions, Caymanian's would bring home the gold each time (and before anybody jumps to any conclusions on that one, I am a Caymanian).  I have witnessed both the police and ambulance drivers driving recklessly.  There is a difference between driving fast and safe and just fast.  Secondly, the wailing sound the siren makes is omnidirectional and coupled with the doppler effect, it takes most drivers a few seconds to ascertain the direction of approach.   It is easier once the strobing lights are visible.   At best this should be reported as a 'collision between an ambulance and car'.  If it is reported as a car hitting an ambulance, the 'jumping to conclusions' syndrome is exacerbated.

        In the past we must also recall that fire trucks and ambulances have both been rolled on to their sides by their drivers, costing the public purse for replacements.  It is also an indication that emergency service vehicle drivers may need further 'education'. 

      • Anonymous says:

        I have no idea if the driver was drunk, but I was there.  The ambulance had lights and sirens on, coming from crew rd direction and was nearly at the intersection.  All other cars had stopped.  This car came from Bobby Thompson way, seemed to be going fast, passed the other stopped cars, and barrelled through the intersection apparently without pause as the ambulance entered the intersection.  The ambulance could not avoid it as it passed directly in the ambulance's path with very little – if any – warning. 

      • Anonymous says:

        Duh , you need to read the traffic law before you flap you mouth

  6. Anonymous says:

    Time for these drunk drivers to be named and shamed!

  7. Frank says:

    I understand that people shouldn't be drinking and driving but am i the only person that finds it rather strange that every time an emergency vehicle "Hits another car" (as this is a misleading headline…the ambulance hit the car not the other way around) that the driver is automaticallyarrested on suspicion of DUI?? Maybe train your drivers better and these kind of accidents wouldn't happen. I know of two police officers who definitely should not hold a drivers license.

    • Anonymous says:

      Um, only morons and drunks hit ambulances. They are not all that hard to avoid.

    • Anonymous says:

      Its also seems to happen at this 4way everytime!

      I wonder if our illustrious traffic department has put 2 and 2 together yet???????

    • Really? says:

      Drivers of vehicles involved in collisions are not automatically arrested on suspicion of DUI.  Instead, the responding officer (or paramedics, if dispatched) may be tipped off to the presence of alcohol on a driver's breath.  Drivers are given a breath or blood test to determine alcohol level.  But, since alcohol is an organic substance that is rather quickly metabolised, the test must be administered shortly after the accident.  It is a standard procedure of many police departments to test for alcohol after a crash.

      Furthermore, although the ambulance did, in fact, hit the other vehicle, do you know the circumstances?  If the ambulance had its lights and sirens activated, does this not give it the right of way?  If so, shouldn't the other vehicle stopped and given way to the approaching emergency vehicle?

      To accuse the ambulance crew of being poor drivers is indefensible.  These are dedicated professionals that risk their personal safety and well-being for the residents and visitors of this island.  For you to infer that they "should not hold a driver's license" degrades each and every member of the emergency services.

      Might I ask, do you always follow the law when the emergency vehicle approaches?  To clarify, that means pull all the way to the left and come to a complete stop.  Not a slow crawl.  Not full speed on the shoulder.  And certainly not a stop in the right hand land (or middle lane of West Bay Road) simply because it is an inconvenience to allow them to pass…

      • Anonymous says:

        If you check historical records you will find at least two ambulances and one fire truck overturned with no other vehicle involved in the last ten years.  Stilll want to say they are ALL 'dedicated professionals'?

        • Anonymous says:

          08:47

          Stop misleading the public, you probably one of those same one  that thinks the road is yours. My cousin turned over a fire truck on the west bay road..you know why? he had to swerve over from hitting an ass h@@e…. that refuse to  stop, when he saw the  truck  with all lights and siren on.

  8. Caymanian to the bone says:

    Sad to say but "you Can't FIX Stupid".

  9. Anonymous says:

    some people DO NOT have respect for Emergency Vehicles  when they hear them coming with there sirens on.