By EMS1 Staff
PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — An EMT involved in a fatal ambulance crash captured on dashcam video was found not guilty of vehicular homicide Tuesday.
Penn. Township, Pa., EMT Jason Fait ran a red light and the ambulance struck another vehicle, killing the driver in October, 2006. Jurors in the case were asked to decide whether it was a “reckless, negligent act,” according to WTAE-TV.
Fait, 33, was found guilty of careless driving and failure to obey a traffic control device — both summary counts — and was fined $200 and $25, according to the report.
Following the trial, Fait told reporters he never intentionally caused the crash and that he has “spent my entire life trying to save lives, educate the public on safety.”
During the trial, jurors were shown two videotapes recorded from the ambulance that showed the moments before and during the collision, according to The Tribune-Review.
The first video showed the ambulance driving through the red light, while the second recorded Fait looking at the roadway, the newspaper said.
Fait’s defense attorney said the footage proved he was not trying to deliberately beat or run the light. Fait, and a paramedic who was also riding in the ambulance, were not injured.
Having taken a patient to hospital, they had been returning to base when the crash happened.
The ambulance struck the side of a Ford Bronco driven by Frank Scalise Jr., 46, who was on his way to work as a prison guard.