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GREENSBORO - Three Guilford County EMS employees were taken to Moses Cone Hospital after their ambulance overturned Tuesday afternoon.
The wreck occurred on N.C. 68 near West Market Street at 12:17 p.m. The ambulance flipped onto its roof and stopped in a grassy median.
There were no other vehicles involved, and the ambulance was not in service when the wreck occurred. No patients were on board.
Operations Manager Billy Livingston wants to assure the public that Guilford County EMS takes public safety very seriously.
"There is a public trust issue here today that we as an agency have got to overcome because when you see one of those inverted," he said, pointing to an upright ambulance parked at 1002 Meadowood St., "it's hard to deal with."
The ambulance involved is 23 feet long, 9.7 feet high and weighs 19,000 pounds. It is a six-figure loss to the agency, he said.
The EMS employees' injuries were not life-threatening. Their identities were not immediately released.
Livingston would not reveal details about how the accident occurred; however, he said the 2001 Freightliner was "safe and acceptable" to drive.
"There's no excuses here," he said. "We do several hundred thousand miles a year, but we frankly wrecked an ambulance today. We take full responsibility for that."
It is too early to say if the driver failed to adhere to driving regulations before the accident and if any of the workers will be disciplined, Livingston said.
The wreck is under investigation by Greensboro police. Guilford County EMS could get an accident report today, he said.
The results could lead to changes to improve policies and motor vehicle safety for staff and patients.
"What we want is for people to have the confidence that when they have to pick up the phone on their worst day and call 911, that we're going to arrive safely," Livingston said.
"We're going to aggressively access and treat them, and take them to the appropriate facility in a safe and judicious manner."
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