March 16, 2021

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An ambulance was flipped on its side Tuesday afternoon after it was struck by a pickup truck that did not stop for the emergency vehicle, which was sounding lights and sirens at the time, according to authorities.

An emergency medical technician and a paramedic who were involved in a traffic accident at the intersection of Shelby and Oak Grove roads in Poplar Bluff, were uninjured and will be back to work saving lives soon.

The ambulance crew was responding to an emergency call, officials reported.

According to the Poplar Bluff Police Department, the driver of a red Dodge pickup did not stop for the EMS crew, which works for Butler County EMS LLC. The truck hit the emergency vehicle causing it to land on its side.

David Ross, the ambulance service manager, and Dina Rhodes, an owner, emphasized, “they didn’t have a patient” on board the ambulance.

“We were blessed,” Rhodes said.

The EMS team was “unloaded going to a call.”

Both crew members were seen in the Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center emergency room

“Both were discharged with no injuries,” Ross said.

The driver of the red Dodge was also uninjured, EMS reported.

Ross said everyone was “very fortunate that’s all that happened.”

Ross said, “it’s unfortunate that it happened. It’s one of those things that goes on every once in a while. We always cringe when we hear about it, but thankfully, it could have been a lot, lot worse. Nobody was injured from the other vehicle either.”

Intersections are difficult, Ross said.

“We all watch that, but things happen,” Ross said.

This accident “might be a good chance to remind people if you see an emergency vehicle, which I don’t think they saw us, but if you see an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens, make sure you move to the right and stop. That’s the thing that is taught to people, but some people probably don’t know that.”

Today’s manufacturers do a better job of sealing passenger vehicles, Ross said.

“They’re all airtight, people are listening to the radio and it’s hard to hear a siren,” he said. “So they’ve got to be paying attention and do what they got to do.”

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