Trending Topics

Responder killed in W.Va. ambulance crash

Vehicle was transporting a patient Wednesday morning when it crashed over a 51-foot embankment

Charleston Gazette

WELCH, W.Va. — A Bradshaw man is dead after an ambulance crash in McDowell County.

Emergency vehicle operator James Bailey, 36, was driving the ambulance on W.Va. 80 in Avondale around 3 a.m. Wednesday, transporting a patient from English to Welch Community Hospital, when the ambulance crashed, according to the McDowell County Emergency Ambulance Authority.

Bailey was fatally injured and died at the scene.

The EMS attendant, Kevin Brooks, also was injured and was being evaluated Wednesday at a local hospital. His injuries do not appear to be life threatening, according to the ambulance authority.

The patient being transported sustained minor injuries in the accident and a family member accompanying the patient was injured and airlifted to a Charleston-area hospital, according to the ambulance authority.

The McDowell County authority had employed Bailey since November 2009. The accident is being investigated by the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department.

Copyright 2010 Charleston Newspapers