The Associated Press
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press

ASHLAND, Ky. — An ambulance driver in northeastern Kentucky has been charged with driving under the influence of controlled substances after he ran two red lights with a patient in the back, police said.

Steven Ray Marcum of Mingo County, W.Va., was transporting a patient Tuesday for Jan Care Ambulance, a regional service, when he ran the lights, said Ashland police Capt. Todd Kelley.

The lights and sirens of the ambulance weren't on, tipping police officer Bill Lucas that something was wrong, Kelley said.

"With this guy, it was obvious," Kelley said.

Marcum failed a field sobriety test and was blood-tested for drugs before going to jail at the Boyd County Detention Center, Kelley said.

Marcum was transporting a patient from Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital. The patient was transferred to another ambulance and taken to a Huntington, W.Va., nursing home. There was also another EMT in the ambulance, Kelley said.