Trending Topics

Maine ambulance crew stops wrong-way driver on interstate

The Yarmouth crew was able to position their ambulance and block the driver on I-295

TownofYarmouthFireRescue.jpg

Town of Yarmouth Fire Rescue/Facebook

By Morgan Womack
Portland Press Herald

PORTLAND, Maine — An ambulance that noticed a wrong-way driver on Interstate 295 in Portland Monday morning helped stop the car and ended up taking the driver to the hospital when it appeared she was having a medical event.

Maine State Police are investigating the incident, which happened just before noon. The 78-year-old woman from Westbrook was driving a 2008 Chrysler PT Cruiser north in the southbound lanes between Exits 7 and 8.

A crew from Yarmouth Fire and Rescue that was traveling northbound saw the woman driving the wrong way and was able to turn around and position the ambulance at an angle to block her car. The woman began backing away from the ambulance, then stopped when a state police cruiser pulled up with its emergency lights on, a state police spokesperson said.

The trooper put the woman’s car into park and retrieved the keys. Yarmouth Rescue then brought her to Mercy Hospital, where she was initially trying to go.

The medical event was not life-threatening, state police said.

(c)2024 the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine)
Visit the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine) at www.pressherald.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Trending
Union leaders warn up to 1,500 EMTs and paramedics may leave in 2026 as pay disparities with firefighters worsen staffing shortages and response times
A private ambulance driven by a relative ran a red light and crashed into another car, leaving an infant dead and the child’s mother hospitalized, police said
Lillian Bonsignore, the first former EMT to lead the FDNY, reflects on the department’s uneasy 1996 merger with EMS
Advocates and lawmakers warn staffing shortages at the World Trade Center Health Program are causing treatment delays for sick 9/11 responders and survivors