Ambulance transporting patient has accident Friday

DOUBLE SPRINGS  -  A Regional Paramedical Service ambulance, transporting a patient for treatment at Lakeland Community Hospital, was involved in an accident in the early morning hours of Friday, July 23, resulting in two medics as well as the patient being evaluated at the hospital.
The Double Springs Fire Department was called to an accident around 3 a.m., where the ambulance, instead of turning right onto Highway 195 from County Road 24, crossed the highway and ended up in an area that had been cleared but had become grown over in kudzu, according to Lt. Erik Gilbreath of the DS Fire Department.
The ambulance had reportedly picked up a patient from Hendrix Health and Rehab located off Highway 33, and had traveled 33, turning right onto 24 to pass through the industrial park area before approaching Highway 195, while on their way to Lakeland Community Hospital in Haleyville, Gilbreath stated.
However, instead of turning right onto Highway 195, the ambulance crossed the highway and went off the roadway into a kudzu patch, he added.
“When (the ambulance) went off the roadway, it went over a ditch,” Gilbreath stated. “She very well could have flipped the ambulance, but the Lord was looking out for them last night.”
The medic driving the ambulance as well as the medic riding in the back and the patient from Hendrix were all placed into another RPS ambulance which intercepted and transported  on to Lakeland, authorities said.
The two RPS medics were treated and released and the patient from Hendrix, who was reportedly not injured, was already being taken to Lakeland, authorities said.
The ambulance experienced minor damage in the wreck, according to firefighters. Cause of the accident has not been determined, officials said.
“I am just glad nobody was seriously injured, and they were all able to walk away from it,” said Gilbreath. “They were extremely fortunate...”