Rocky Mountain News
Copyright 2007 Rocky Mountain News

DENVER — The family of a suicidal woman who was killed when she jumped out of an ambulance on Interstate 25 sued the ambulance company Friday in federal court for failing to ensure her safety.

Mellissa Watkins died July 8 after she opened the rear door of an ambulance operated by Action Care Ambulance of Englewood and either jumped or fell to the pavement.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of her husband, Ronnie Watkins, and the couple's three children, seeks monetary damages from Action Care for negligence.

Mellissa Watkins, who had a history of multiple suicide attempts and hospital stays related to them, was being transported from Parker Adventist Hospital in Parker to Centennial Peaks Psychiatric Hospital in Louisville, according to the lawsuit filed in Denver U.S. District Court.

All available restraints were not used to keep her on the gurney, and she was able to free herself from the one used around her waist and ankle, while the attendant was looking over paperwork or talking to the ambulance driver, the lawsuit alleges. Watkins got up from the gurney, opened the rear door and either fell or jumped onto the roadway, resulting in her death.