MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Two EMS employees have been suspended after their ambulance was caught speeding without lights or sirens.
WKRN.com reported that the Rutherford County EMS ambulance crew was going close to 20 miles over the posted speed limit of 70 mph on Saturday. Officials confirmed that there was a cardiac patient on board at the time, despite the vehicle not running its lights or sirens.
“It is troublesome to us. We don’t condone; it is against the law. It is against any policy we ever had, and when we come across something like this we take care of it as quickly as we can,” Rutherford County EMS Director Randy White said.
According to White, the ambulance reached speeds of 87 mph.
“Obviously it’s against policy and against the law,” he said. “To be honest, our people dedicate their lives to the service of others. They do great work and people make mistakes and this is one of those mistakes.”
The patient on board was being transported to a VA hospital in Nashville.
Both employees have been suspended without pay and White said neither has a history of problems.
“Anytime our people make a mistake it is troublesome. We are out there to protect the public and that might not be the case here,” White said. “They are heroes in my eyes and sometimes even heroes make mistakes.”