Worker hurt after SUV makes illegal U-turn
An emergency medical services (EMS) worker was injured on the job in Fredericton when the vehicle they were driving to a rollover collided with an SUV that made an illegal U-turn in its path, police say.
The EMS operator and the SUV driver both suffered minor injuries in the Oct. 2 collision on Woodstock Road, the Fredericton Police Force said in a news release issued Oct. 8.
The Fredericton Independent identified the emergency vehicle as belonging to Ambulance New Brunswick. The SUV driver faces three charges under New Brunswick's Motor Vehicle Act, police said.
Video shows other drivers yielding
Crews had been called to a single-vehicle rollover in the 2500 block of Woodstock Road, police said.
Video from the scene, posted on the force's Facebook page, shows other motorists yielding as the EMS vehicle approached with its emergency lights and siren activated, police said. A Ford Escape then made an illegal U-turn and collided with the EMS vehicle.
The Independent reported the SUV appeared to leave slowed traffic near the rollover and try to turn back. Police said the two incidents required a "significant emergency response" and closed part of Woodstock Road for several hours.
Driver faces three charges
The driver of the Ford Escape was charged with driving without due care and attention, turning improperly, and failing to yield the right of way to an emergency vehicle, police said.
The driver was issued tickets for the offences, the Independent reported.
Failing to yield to an emergency vehicle carries a fine of $292.50, police said. The charges have not been proven.
Police urge drivers to yield
Police said failing to yield endangers the public, emergency responders and other motorists, and can delay critical emergency responses.
"The Fredericton Police Force reminds motorists that emergency lights and sirens signal that emergency personnel are responding to urgent situations where every second matters," police said in a statement reported by CTV News.
"Yielding helps ensure emergency personnel reach those in need quickly and safely," the force said.
Follows fatal ambulance crash in July
The collision came three months after two Island EMS paramedics and their patient were killed in what RCMP believe was a head-on collision between their ambulance and a transport truck in Melrose, N.B. RCMP said the cause was under investigation, The Globe and Mail reported.
WorkSafeNB was among the agencies that assisted at that scene, Your Greater Moncton reported.
Chris Hood, executive director of the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick, told CBC News the group was arranging for New Brunswick paramedics to cover P.E.I. shifts so grieving colleagues could recover from the stress. About 120 volunteered, Global News reported.
Road hazards on paramedics' risk list
Traffic protection ranked among the top 10 paramedic hazards in a 2022 Ontario project by the Public Services Health & Safety Association, which identified post-traumatic stress disorder as the top hazard for paramedics, Canadian Occupational Safety (COS) reported.
Ontario later upgraded an existing sub-committee into a stand-alone Paramedics Services Committee under its Occupational Health and Safety Act, COS reported in 2023.
COS also reported this month on employer duties under the Criminal Code's Westray provisions after a truck crash near Quebec City.
