By Brad Devereaux
mlive.com
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. — An ambulance and two school buses crashed in Southwest Michigan, causing serious injuries to paramedics, police said.
It happened around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, on M-139 near East Empire Avenue, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office reports.
A Medic 1 ambulance was responding with lights and sirens activated to a cardiac arrest priority call in Benton Harbor, heading north on M-139 approaching the light at the intersection of East Empire Avenue, police said.
Witnesses told police the light had just turned red for north/south traffic.
A Berrien RESA School bus headed east began to cross M-139 for a green light and pulled into the path of the ambulance, police said.
The impact of the crash pushed the Berrien RESA Bus into the westbound lanes of Empire Avenue and into the path of a westbound First Student bus, causing the buses to collide head-on.
The First Student driver and bus driver assistants suffered minor injuries and the Berrien RESA bus driver did not suffer any injuries. The RESA assistant suffered minor injuries, police said.
Four students on the buses did not receive any injuries, police said.
The Medic 1 paramedics suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to Corewell Health for treatment of internal and lower extremity injuries.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation unit was called to the scene to assist in the investigation.
The crash remains under investigation. Drugs or alcohol are not factors in this crash, police said.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, Benton Township Police, Benton Harbor Dept of Public Safety, Michigan Department of Transportation, Medic 1 Ambulance and Berrien County Public Safety Dispatch Center responded.
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