DUPLIN COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) – An ambulance carrying a patient and a tractor-trailer were involved in a crash in Duplin County that was called in at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, June 12.
Per Duplin County, a commercial tractor-trailer and a Duplin County EMS ambulance crashed at the intersection of North N.C. 111 and Sheep Pasture Road in Albertson.
At the intersection, the ambulance failed to yield, turning left in front of the oncoming tractor-trailer, which was pulling a full load of live chickens, according to a North Carolina State Highway Patrol representative.
The driver of the tractor-trailer attempted to stop, but could not in time.
“At the time of the collision, the ambulance was loaded with a patient and was in transit to the hospital without the use of lights or sirens. The driver of the tractor-trailer was ambulatory on the scene. All patients involved were evaluated and transported to receiving hospitals either by ground ambulance or medical helicopter for non-life-threatening injuries,” a county announcement states.
The two Duplin County EMS employees in the ambulance were seriously injured and airlifted to ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville. One was unbuckled at the time of the crash, assisting the patient in the back of the ambulance, the NCSHP trooper explained.
The patient being transported in the ambulance, as well as the tractor-trailer driver received minor injuries. The tractor-trailer driver was taken by EMS truck to ECU Health Duplin Hospital while the patient was transported to ECU Health Medical Center by EMS.
Everyone involved in the crash is expected to make a recovery.
Speeding was not determined to be a factor in this collision. The driver of the ambulance was cited for failure to yield.
The county thanked Duplin County 911, Onslow County EMS, Pender County EMS, and Wayne County EMS for their help in managing the incident.
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