By Steve Lieberman
The Journal News
Copyright 2008 The Journal News
WEST NYACK, N.Y. — A Regional EMS ambulance driver caused caused the accident in which he suffered broken bones and his partner lost her right arm, Clarkstown police said today.
The driver, Scott Millar, 19, of Haverstraw, took his eyes off the road and thought another vehicle was entering his lane, causing him to veer to his right into a flatbed truck parked on the shoulder of Route 59, police said.
The crash sheared off the passenger side of the emergency vehicle where EMT Bonnie Ames sat, police said.
The Clarkstown Accident Investigation Unit found that “driver inattention” led to the accident on April 14, Clarkstown Sgt. Harry Baumann said.
The investigators interviewed Millar, other witnesses and calculated the speed of ambulance and other physical evidence.
“The driver was looking at his GPS (global positioning system) and through his peripheral vision thought another car was coming into his lane,” Baumann said. “He swerved sharply to the right and hit the truck.”
Baumann said no summonses have been issued or charges filed.
Police determined Millar was not speeding. And authorities said the ambulance’s electronic speed monitor showed Millar was driving within the 45 mile per hour speed limit for that stretch of Route 59.
Raymond Florida, executive director of Regional EMS and Rockland Paramedic Services, said called the crash an “unfortunate accident.”
“He was doing the speed limit,” Florida said. “This goes to show that we have to remain attentive every time we’re behind the wheel. We have to remain vigilant and concentrate on what we are doing.”