PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates has learned that a city of Pittsburgh ambulance with a patient onboard on the way to Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side was involved in an accident.
The city is investigating whether it was a mechanical issue or human error.
The ride-share driver, whose car was hit, said medics told him the door had been shut, and suddenly flew open as they turned the corner to go to the hospital.
“When the door from the ambulance swung, it smacked the car with such force, not only did it startle my Uber passenger, she claims there was an injury, broke the glass, this panel right here came completely off,” said ride share driver Larry Smar.
Cmar showed Chief Investigator Rick Earle the damage to his car.
He was stopped on the side of the road just in front of Allegheny General Hospital on the North Side, when a rear compartment door on a city of Pittsburgh ambulance that was turning the corner flew open and struck the back of his car.
Earle: Did you know what was going on at the time?
Cmar: No, I’m like, who in the world hit me? My passenger started to get upset.
Cmar said he got the attention of the ambulance driver and the driver stopped and told him he would talk to him after dropping the patient off at the emergency room.
“His supervisor came out and the first thing they said was, ‘This happens all the time,’ and I’m like, ‘What do you mean it happens all the time?’ They said, ‘These ambulances are in bad shape.’ So, I started taking pictures and I was trying to help him close their door, and the latch wouldn’t even close. He said, ‘It’s broke. It stays broken like that,’” said Cmar.
Earle also spoke with Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt about the accident.
“I’m aware of it, through the chiefs and the incident reports, but I don’t have details of the cause or anything like that. I know the door came open but I’m not sure if it was a malfunction of the latch or user error,” said Schmidt, who added that he is still reviewing the accident.
For more than a year now, 11 Investigates has reported on the poor conditions of the city fleet, including police, fire, EMS and garbage.
Just about a month ago, a rear axle snapped on an ambulance as it was leaving Allegheny General Hospital.
“This is what happens when you don’t invest in the fleet,” said councilman Bobby Wilson, of the North Side.
While the fleet has been neglected for years, councilman Bobby Wilson was told at a public hearing in May that bids for new ambulances had gone out, only to find out months later from 11 Investigates that they didn’t actually go out until August.
That delay, combined with the aging fleet worries Councilman Wilson.
“It sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen,” said Wilson.
As for the ride share driver Larry Cmar, he’s not allowed to drive for Uber until the $3200 in damage to his car is fixed.
He’s now waiting on the city to pay the bill. He told 11 Investigates it could take up to three months.
In the meantime, he’s losing money every day.
“Now I’m losing $140.00 a day because they were negligent, allowing vehicles like this on the road and now, there’s an accident because of it,” said Cmar.
Cmar said the city has been in touch with his insurance company, but he’s still waiting for them to write a check for the damages.
Sources tell 11 Investigates that the city garage looked at the latch and didn’t find anything wrong, but that there were issues with the same latch about a year ago.
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