By Elizabeth Donald
The Belleville News-Democrat
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — An ambulance with lights and sirens going crashed into a Chevrolet Wednesday morning, and at least two people were taken to the hospital.
The Edwardsville Fire Department ambulance was heading to a medical call as it approached the intersection of New Poag Road and Route 111, according to Illinois State Trooper Doug Hays.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Grace, 25, of Granite City, was traveling northbound on Route 111. He had a green light, and Hays said Grace saw the ambulance’s lights but was not able to stop in time. The ambulance entered the intersection and struck the Chevrolet.
The ambulance driver, 49-year-old William Reiter, was taken to Anderson Hospital. Hays said Reiter will be cited for disobeying a traffic control device, namely the red light at that intersection. Hays said emergency response vehicles cannot enter an intersection against the traffic light unless “it is safe to do so.”
Edwardsville Fire Chief Rick Welle said for now he could only confirm that an ambulance was involved in an accident with a private vehicle.
Grace also was taken to Anderson Hospital for treatment. There was another paramedic riding in the ambulance at the time, Hays said, but he declined medical treatment. No one has been airlifted to St. Louis, he said. Their current medical conditions were not available.
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