WELCH — One person died and two others were injured Wednesday after an ambulance traveling along Route 80 in McDowell County crashed over a 51-foot embankment.
The ambulance came to a rest in the front yard of a residence in the Avondale community. The operator of the McDowell County Ambulance Authority vehicle, James Bailey, 36, of Bradshaw, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to Deputy J.R. England of the McDowell County Sheriff’s Department.
The crash was reported just before 3 a.m. A 12-year-old child who was being transported by the ambulance was released at the scene of the crash, but her mother, who was traveling in the ambulance with her, had to be airlifted from the scene of the accident to Charleston Area Medical Center. Her condition was not immediately known Wednesday.
England said an EMT worker also inside the ambulance, Kevin Brooks, 21, of Anawalt, was transported to Welch Community Hospital. His injuries were not believed to be life threatening, according to a press release issued by the ambulance authority.
England said the ambulance was traveling north on Route 80, and ran off the roadway to the right. At that point, the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, ran through a guardrail, and went approximately 51 feet over an embankment. England said the ambulance came to a rest about six feet away from a private residence, and near the living room door entrance of the home.
Bailey was trapped inside of the vehicle. England said the man wasn’t removed from the ambulance until 5:01 a.m.
“He was entrapped,” England said. “They had to cut about half of the complete truck, or top of it, and around a quarter part of it they had to remove to get him out.”
England said speed didn’t appear to be a factor in the accident.
“It just looks like they ran off the road and lost control of the vehicle,” England said. “All the witnesses know is they just started flipping over. It looks like they just ran off the road to the right.”
The Bradshaw Volunteer Fire Department, Iaeger Volunteer Fire Department, Bradshaw Police Department, Jancare Ambulance Service and Upper Laurel Ambulance Service all responded to the crash.
The ambulance was transporting a patient from English to Welch Community Hospital, according to the ambulance authority news release. The news release signed by County Manager Clif Moore indicates a family member accompanying the patient also was injured and transported by AirEvac Lifeteam to a Charleston hospital.
Moore said Bailey had been employed by the ambulance authority since November of 2009.
– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com
Local News
September 9, 2010
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