The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A man was killed Sunday when his car crashed into an ambulance carrying a patient on Interstate 430 in Little Rock, police said.
James Houston, 25, of Little Rock was headed south on the highway about 4:18 p.m. when he crossed the median and crashed into the northbound LifeNet Inc. ambulance, Arkansas State Police Cpl. Cleary Chapman said. The ambulance spun, causing it to sideswipe a northbound Volkswagon sport utility vehicle, and its patient compartment separated from the vehicle chassis, coming to a rest on its side.
Houston was taken to Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock, where he died at 6:27 p.m., Chapman said.
The ambulance’s driver, emergency medical technician Whitney Buckley, 22, of Arkadelphia was taken to UAMS Medical Center. A hospital spokesman said she was in good condition Sunday evening.
Paramedic Kenneth Stanley, 47, of Texarkana, Texas, was treated at the hospital and released Sunday evening, said Kelly McCauley, director of operations for LifeNet’s Texarkana office. The patient being transported in the LifeNet ambulance, identified by police as Verna Richie, 59, of Hope, suffered cuts and bruises, McCauley said. She was at UAMS Medical Center on Sunday evening for reasons unrelated to the accident, he said.
The Volkswagon’s driver, Regina Yrosh, 68, of Little Rock, was not injured, Chapman said.
At the time of the accident, the ambulance had been taking Richie from a Texarkana hospital to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital for specialized care, McCauley said.
Copyright 2009 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc