Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
EASTON, Conn. — Two Easton Emergency Medical Service medics suffered minor injuries, but the ambulance they were riding in was heavily damaged when it was struck Wednesday by an out-of-control car on Center Road.
No patients were in the ambulance at the time of the crash, according to Marge Smith, the Easton EMS chief.
The ambulance, however, was knocked out of service and the EMS corps now has only one ambulance to cover town.
The car’s driver, Antonio Brito, 18, of Coleman Street in Bridgeport, was charged by police with reckless driving, driving without a license, driving without insurance and misuse of registration.
He was released on $500 bond and is scheduled to appear July 11 in Bridgeport Superior Court.
Brito was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport where he was held overnight for observation and then released to police custody.
Emergency Medical Technicians Adam Goldstein and Todd Olschan also were treated at the hospital and released.
Police said Brito lost control of his sports car on Center Road about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, swerved off the right shoulder, veered across the roadway and struck the ambulance head on. The car spun around after the initial collision and struck the ambulance again.
“He was going very fast” before spinning out, Smith said of Brito.
“He hit [the ambulance] three times.”
The ambulance was damaged on three sides, but not the area where the oxygen tank is stored, she said.
“I’m glad he didn’t hit the oxygen tank. It would have blown up,” Smith said.
Smith estimated the $90,000 ambulance suffered $47,000 worth of damage in the crash.
Insurance should cover the cost of repairs, she added.
Since the EMS corps is down to one ambulance, mutual aid from other communities will cover the service shortfall, Smith noted.
“Fortunately, our town only has 400 calls a year,” she said.