By Ryan Mills
Naples Daily News
COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — The driver of a Collier County ambulance, which was struck by an unmarked Collier County Sheriff’s Office vehicle and overturned while transporting a patient on Nov. 28, was deemed to be at fault in the accident, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
However, no charges will be filed against the ambulance driver, 56-year-old Eva Weeks, because she was performing her duties when the accident occurred.
The two vehicles crashed just before 8 a.m. Nov. 28, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. The deputy, 34-year-old Kristopher Sutton, driving a 2007 Ford sport utility vehicle, was traveling north on Kings Way when he collided with the ambulance, which was traveling west through the intersection with Davis Boulevard.
Sutton’s vehicle stuck the ambulance in the left axle, causing it to overturn.
Phyllis Robinson, 70, a patient onboard the ambulance, was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital via air ambulance in critical condition, reports said. FHP Sgt. Dwayne Cooper said previously that Robinson, who was already on her way to a local hospital, did not appear to have suffered any additional injuries in the crash.
Collier County EMS employee Rebecca Wilson, 33, was also transported to Lee Memorial with a broken pelvis. Sutton and Weeks both suffered minor injuries.
Both Sutton and Weeks claimed they had green lights at the time of the crash, the FHP reported. Investigators determined the ambulance that entered the intersection on a red light.
Witnesses stated they saw emergency lights, but didn’t hear the ambulance’s siren, according to reports.
Though its emergency lights were flashing, according to state statute, the ambulance was required to yield to vehicles that have legally entered an intersection. Without an active siren, Sutton did not have much warning, the FHP reported.
Collier County Emergency Director Dan Summers said the county is also investigating.
“There hasn’t been any action taken, and I do not know her duty status as of today,” Summers said of Weeks. “My chief concern is for those involved in the accident and for their quick recovery. We’ll continue with the investigation and we’ll proceed from there.”
Collier County Emergency Medical Services Director Jeff Page was in the area the morning of the crash, and said he remembers hearing a siren. He said he assumed it was the siren from Week’s ambulance.
“I would be surprised if Eva, with over 20 years of experience, would make that mistake,” Page said.