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‘The close call of close calls': 2 ATCEMS medics injured when vehicle slams into rig

An Austin Travis County EMS medic was preparing to exit the ambulance through the back doors when the vehicle was struck by an alleged drunk driver

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One Austin Travis County EMS medic was preparing to exit the ambulance through the back doors when the vehicle was struck.

Austin Travis County EMS/Facebook

By EMS1 Staff

AUSTIN, Texas — An alleged drunk driver struck an Austin Travis County EMS ambulance Sunday morning, KXAN reported.

According to Division Chief Eric Jakubauskas, the crew were responding to a medical call in one of the agency’s newest rigs when the incident occurred.

“Nobody would expect this on a medical call on the side of a city street that somebody would go ahead and slam into them,” he told KXAN, adding that both medics were transported to the hospital and will recover, though one cannot yet return to work.

In a social media post, ATCEMS shared, “#ATCEMSMedics and firefighters from Austin Fire were caring for a patient in the back of the ambulance when it was struck from behind, injuring both medics and sending one to the hospital. This was the close call of close calls, as one medic was preparing to exit the ambulance through the back doors when they were hit. If this collision had happened a split second later, we’d be telling a much different, much more tragic story.”

https://twitter.com/ATCEMS/status/1635453500715827201

ATCEMS took to social media to share the incident and a message with the community: #MoveOverSlowDown #DriveSober. “You’ve heard us say it, you’ve read it on highway signs, you’ve seen it on social media posts, you’ve watched the commercials. We say it until we’re blue in the face, and this is why,” ATCEMS shared in a Twitter post, encouraging community members to move over for emergency vehicles and to find alternative transportation while drinking.

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