Klamath County ambulance hits car in NE Bend intersection; no serious injuries
(Update: Adding video)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A Klamath County ambulance taking a critical patient to St. Charles Bend struck a car in a busy northeast Bend intersection Thursday morning, causing no serious injuries but tying up traffic for a time, police said.
Police said the Klamath County Fire District 1 ambulance and Subaru collided shortly after 11 a.m. at the intersection of Northeast 27th Street and U.S. Highway 20.
Officers determined the ambulance was heading north and stopped at the red light. The driver then changed the siren pitch and continued heading north, Bend Police Communications Manager Sheila Miller said.
The Subaru driver, heading west on a green light, continued into the intersection, not realizing the ambulance was going through, Miller said.
A viewer told NewsChannel 21 a semi-truck in the area might have obstructed the view of the car’s driver, adding that the ambulance had its lights and siren on.
A Bend Fire & Rescue ambulance responded to take the critical patient to the hospital, Miller said. Both vehicles were towed from the scene. One occupant of the ambulance sustained minor injuries.
The Bend Police crash reconstruction team responded for an investigation that limited westbound and southbound traffic until about 1 p.m.
