HOUSTON – One woman is dead and four other people are injured after an accident involving an ambulance in northwest Harris County.
The accident happened around 11:13 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Cypresswood Drive and TC Jester, according to authorities.
Harris County deputies said an 80-year-old woman, identified as Shirley Ogletree, was being transported by private ambulance for a non-emergency when another driver heading southbound ran a red light at the intersection.
Deputies said the driver, later identified as Geovanny Castro, hit the ambulance and caused it to roll over and land back on its wheels. Castro’s 2013 Toyota Carolla ended up in a nearby wooded area, deputies said.
According to authorities, Ogletree, the back attendant, Christopher Lindseth and the driver of the ambulance, Kimberly Carter had to be transported to a hospital via ambulance. Ogletree was later pronounced dead. The conditions of Lindseth and Carter are unclear.
The passenger of the striking vehicle, Victor Eligio was also transported via ambulance in unknown condition, deputies said. Castro had to be extricated out and was transported to a hospital via Life Flight in critical condition.
Investigators are still working to learn more about the accident and determine if Castro may have been intoxicated.
Acadian Ambulance Service released Saturday a statement following the ambulance crash:
On Friday, April 30, as one of our units was traveling through an intersection, it was broadsided by a vehicle disregarding a redlight. At the time, we were transporting a non-emergency patient who tragically succumbed to the injuries caused by the collision.
The EMT driving the unit sustained minor injuries and the paramedic attending the patient sustained moderate injuries. According to local news reports, the driver and passenger of the vehicle that struck our ambulance sustained moderate to critical injuries.
“This is a very tragic situation. The entire Acadian family, who have dedicated their careers to the care of our patients, grieves for the loss of life caused by this collision, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and loved ones affected by this loss. We are also deeply concerned for our crewmembers and for the occupants of the vehicle that struck us,” said Justin Back, president of Acadian Ambulance Service.
Acadian is fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation of this incident.