Police: SUV driver did not yield in crash with ambulance

An ambulance carrying a patient was struck Monday by an SUV that failed to yield, police said.

The Alexander County, Illinois--based ambulance was traveling south on West End Boulevard in Cape Girardeau shortly before 5:30 p.m. when the SUV pulled into its path, Cape Girardeau Police Department public-information officer Sgt. Rick Schmidt said Tuesday.

A city camera owned by the Public Works Department used to monitor traffic flow captured the incident, Schmidt said.

Although the ambulance was transporting a patient, the emergency lights were not on, Schmidt said.

"It was not on an emergency run. I can confirm by watching the video that there were no red lights on," he said, "which is not unusual for an ambulance to run a patient to the hospital as a normal vehicle."

The camera did not record audio, but Schmidt said Missouri law requires ambulances to use sirens and lights together or forgo them when transporting patients.

Five people -- including people from both vehicles -- were injured in the crash and subsequently transported to area hospitals, Schmidt said.

"I was told the only person who was not injured was the patient in the ambulance because they were secured to the gurney and the backboard ... in the [ambulance] bay," he said.

Schmidt said he could not speak about the injuries sustained in the crash, but said none was life-threatening.

"It wasn't that intense of a collision," he said. "It was a collision, but it didn't appear to be anything major."

It remains unclear whether the driver of the SUV will be ticketed.

"It's not unusual for us to not issue them (tickets) immediately," Schmidt said, adding he was not aware of any drugs or alcohol involved in the crash.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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