BENTON HARBOR, MI (DDN) – An ambulance and two school buses collided in Southwest Michigan, resulting in serious injuries to paramedics, according to authorities.
It occurred around 1:30 p.m. According to the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred Wednesday, January 15, on M-139 near East Empire Avenue.
A Medic 1 ambulance was responding with lights and sirens active to a cardiac arrest priority call in Benton Harbor, going north on M-139 and approaching the light at the junction of East Empire Avenue, police said.
Witnesses told authorities that the north/south traffic light had just gone red.
A Berrien RESA School bus heading east began crossing M-139 for a green light and collided with the ambulance, according to authorities.
The impact of the incident pushed the Berrien RESA Bus into the westbound lanes of Empire Avenue, where it collided with a westbound First Student bus.
The First Student driver and bus driver helpers sustained minor injuries, but the Berrien RESA bus driver was unharmed. The RESA assistant suffered minor injuries, according to authorities.
Four children aboard the buses were not injured, according to authorities.
The Medic 1 paramedics sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and were sent to Corewell Health for treatment of internal and lower extremities injuries.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office Crash Investigation Unit was dispatched to the scene to assist with the investigation.
The crash is still under investigation. According to investigators, drugs and alcohol were not factors in this crash.
The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, Benton Township Police, Benton Harbor Department of Public Safety, Michigan Department of Transportation, Medic 1 Ambulance, and the Berrien County Public Safety Dispatch Center all responded.
Reference: School buses crash head-on after collision with ambulance, injuring paramedics
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