Injuries Reported in Long Island Accident Involving Ambulance

An ambulance was recently involved in a serious car accident on Long Island.

According to Nassau County Police, the accident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, April 2. Emergency responders arrived to the scene at Old Country Road and Zeckendorf Boulevard, where multiple vehicles were involved in the collision.

Reports indicate the ambulance was heading east on Old Country Road to a medical emergency, with its lights and sirens on. A black SUV collided head-on with the ambulance, which spun it around, creating a chain reaction that caused a third vehicle to be struck.

The woman in the third vehicle was uninjured and did not seek medical attention. The ambulance driver was transported to the hospital in stable condition, and the SUV driver was in serious but stable condition at another area hospital.

When emergency vehicles are involved in accidents

Occasionally, emergency vehicles like ambulance, fire trucks or police cars might be involved in an accident. When these vehicles have their lights and sirens on, it is the responsibility of every other driver on the road to pull over and make way for them to pass by, regardless of what side of the street they are driving on.

Emergency vehicles displaying their lights and sirens have significantly more leeway than drivers in most vehicles because it is understood they have legitimate, emergency reasons to get to their destination as soon as possible. As such, they are not bound by the same rules of the road that other drivers are.

Drivers that fail to get out of the way or cause accidents due to a failure to make space for these emergency vehicles may be held liable, even if the emergency vehicle was not following the standard rules of the road.

For more information about determining liability in car accidents, contact an experienced attorney at Jakubowski, Robertson, Maffei, Goldsmith & Tartaglia, LLP.