Ken de la Bastide
The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
ANDERSON, Ind. — An Anderson man whose bicycle was struck by an ambulance on an emergency run has died.
Anderson police said David Britton, 58, died Saturday from the injuries he suffered in the Friday afternoon accident on Eighth Street just west of Madison Avenue.
The Anderson Police Department fatal crash team investigated the accident, which sent Britton to Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Anderson. He was then flown to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.
According to police reports, Cody Riddle, 30, was driving Anderson Fire Department Medic 1 on an emergency call and collided with Britton.
Britton struck the left side of the ambulance and was thrown underneath the left rear wheel of the ambulance.
Preliminary indications are that Medic 1 was operating with emergency lights and siren when it entered the intersection. The bicyclist was reportedly riding northbound in the wrong lane and his lane had a red light at the intersection, according to the APD report.
A bystander at the scene said she was sitting in her car in the convenience store parking lot and heard the sirens.
She said the bicyclist exited the parking lot and attempted to cross Eighth Street when he was struck by the Anderson Fire Department ambulance.
“The ambulance swerved to avoid hitting him,” the witness said. “The ambulance hit a tree and trapped him under the back wheels.”
The witness said a second Fire Department vehicle that was in front of the ambulance returned to the scene and helped raise the back wheels of the ambulance. The ambulance suffered extensive damage to the right front.
“It was not their fault,” she said of the ambulance driver. “You could hear him talking and he appeared to be holding something in his hand.
“It was the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this,” she added.
The accident remains under investigation.
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©2020 The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, Ind.)