Man fights for life after crashing stolen ambulance
A Garda spokesman said that if it had been a short time later, “there would have been school children on the bus”.
The events unfolded after the ambulance and a crew of two paramedics arrived with a patient into the emergency department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda at lunchtime.
One of the paramedics had brought the patient into the department and the second paramedic was in the rear of the ambulance.
Its doors were open and its rear platform was partially lowered when the vehicle suddenly began to move.
It is believed the keys were taken from where they were lying in the front of the vehicle by a man, who then drove off. The paramedic in the back jumped to safety and was uninjured.
Hospital sources last night said that the 46-year-old had himself been brought to hospital by ambulance on Thursday, complaining of headaches, and he is believed to have been on a trolley in the emergency department when he decided to leave.
Gardaí were alerted to the vehicle being taken and were told it had been driven in the direction of Ballymakenny Rd, Drogheda, less than 1km from the hospital grounds.
Garda Inspector Brendan Cadden said: “A motorist reported that the ambulance was on the Ballymakenny road with its back doors open.”
Gardaí in a patrol van saw the ambulance on the Ballymakenny road and followed it “at a distance”.
“The blue lights were activated and the gardaí witnessed the collision,” added Insp Cadden.
The gardaí alerted the fire brigade and ambulance service.
Insp Cadden confirmed that the bus, operated by local company Carroll’s, was travelling away from the town centre, towards Aston Village Educate Together primary school and if the crash had happened later, “it would have had school children on it”.
A spokeswoman for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission confirmed that they had been notified that gardaí were in pursuit of the vehicle when the crash occurred.
The ambulance appears to have been driven away from the town and to have made a u-turn before driving back up the Ballymakenny road towards the town, when it hit a speed ramp and went out of control ploughing into the bus.
Fire-fighters from Drogheda used cutting equipment to free the driver of the ambulance and he was removed by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Hospital sources last night said he was in intensive care and very seriously ill.
The driver of the bus was said to have sustained minor cuts but to be very seriously shocked by the experience.
The crash scene was outside the entrance to Shamrock Villas, a mature cul de sac, with many families living in it.
John Branigan, a father of two who lives in the estate, said: “This road is notorious for people speeding.”
He has recorded vehicles and using time codes has calculated that: “50mph is the average speed and the speed limit is 50kph. It is a death trap for us to live here.”
The speed ramp was installed as a traffic-calming measure, he said.
Another resident, a man who did not want to give his name, said: ‘The doors at the back of the ambulance were flapping.”
The road remained closed until 5.30pm yesterday to allow for the vehicles and the scene to be technically examined.
