[1]Courtesy photo by Zachary Sanchez, Grant’s Towing
Updated at 11:41 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – An ambulance on its way to the hospital with a patient wrecked early this morning west of Chehalis.
It was about 3:20 a.m. when the vehicle left the roadway at Twin Oaks and Cousins roads. Four individuals were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital with what a news release described as minor injuries.
Personnel from Lewis County Fire District 6 and American Medical Response were conducting the transport, according to the news release issued by a volunteer from a neighboring fire agency.
It was an AMR ambulance which sustained what was described as major damage.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating, Lt. Laura Hanson of Lewis County Fire District 5 wrote.
District 6 Chief Tim Kinder was unavailable this morning to respond to questions.
A spokesperson for AMR said he believed the vehicle hit a soft spot at a curve.
“It didn’t tip it over, it kind of put it at an angle,” AMR Director of Communications Brant Butte said.
The patient was strapped in tight, so suffered no injuries, Butte said. The crew of two AMR medics escaped with just bumps and bruises, he said.
Butte didn’t know who the fourth individual was, but said sometimes responders from the local fire district jump in for the transport.
He said he didn’t know anything about the patient, other than they were unhurt.
“The thing is, everybody is okay,” Butte said.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office responded about 4:15 a.m. to investigate and said the ambulance rolled down an embankment on the north side of the road and came to rest on its top.
The patient was a male being transported for a medical emergency, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.
Whether the 26-year-old driver, from Lacey, is ticketed, remains to be seen, according to Brown. That will be decided after the state patrol’s technical investigation is finished, Brown said.
The sheriff’s office requested the state patrol because it was a company vehicle, it was an ambulance, there was a patient involved and there are potential liabilities, Brown said.