VEHICLE CRASH: Responding Ambulance Struck by Drunk Driver

November 5, 2010

Huntington Beach – Ambulance drivers and paramedics were injured after a drunk driver crashed his vehicle into an ambulance Friday afternoon, fire officials said.

The accident happened around 2:30 pm at the neighborhood of Tasman Drive near Bolsa Chica Street, according to Huntington Beach Deputy Fire Marshal Jeff Lopez. A Toyota pickup struck the ambulance, which was on its way to a hospital to take a patient, on its driver’s side.

Authorities said that the ambulance had its lights and sirens on when the collision happened. Two ambulance drivers from Huntington Beach Fire Department and two Orange County Fire Authority paramedics suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital, Lopez said.

Fortunately, the patient on the ambulance was not hurt during the accident, although he was taken to a hospital in a different ambulance. The driver of the pickup, Tristan Johnson, 36, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was also uninjured.