At approximately 5:45 pm, January 2nd, Winnipeg Emergency Medical Services (WEMS) personnel were responding to a minor motor vehicle collision on Corydon Avenue near Stafford Street. Just before 6pm, as paramedics were performing their duties, a pick-up truck collided with one of the vehicles at the scene, causing it to lurch forward and strike one of the paramedics. The paramedics was taken to hospital, treated, and released with minor injuries.
The incident underlines the need for Winnipeg drivers to exercise caution around emergency vehicles, reduce speed, and certainly pull over to the right side of the road when emergency vehicles are responding to 911 calls or at the scene of an emergency.
“There are so many factors involved in emergency personnel simply getting to scenes in a timely manner, including traffic volume, weather, location, and other factors, that make our jobs extremely difficult and extremely dangerous,” said Chris Broughton, president of Paramedics of Winnipeg, MGEU Local 911. “But when our people are already on-scene, this kind of thing can and should be avoidable if people use caution and common sense.”
Unfortunately, near misses at emergency scenes happen all the time for emergency personnel whether they are paramedics, police, or fire fighters, and anecdotal evidence from Winnipeg paramedics indicate this kind of thing may be becoming more commonplace.
“We’re obviously pleased that one of our brothers out on the road didn’t sustain more serious injuries and it looks like he’s going to be alright, but it does give you pause to think about what could have happened,” Broughton said. “That’s one of things that affect our professionals each and every day – the realization that something could happen is the kind of thing they bring home with them after their shift is done.”
Winnipeg Police are expected to release further details of the accident to the public sometime today.