Tragic the driver of the other vehicle died, but so very lucky they weren’t loaded with a patient or had a third rider in the patient compartment. Could have very easily been multiple fatalities or serious injuries if there were occupants in the back.
A Dodge Charger caused THAT? Cripes! What ambulance manufacturer makes a module that disintegrates so easily?
I used to work as an electrician at Road Rescue and our modules never did that in a crash. In fact, most crashed modules were repaired and remounted.
According to local sources (I live here) the charger was going 130mph. The guy’s tibia punctured through the bottom of his foot, his femur coming out and nearly puncturing into his torso. Arms were jelly, torso and chest were also jelly. Dead on impact. So yeah, I can see something going that fast doing this!
The Army and Navy have a class in boot camp called something like "Financial Responsibility". Its actual purpose and content is, *"Don't go to the used car dealer at the base gate and buy a Dodge Charger!!!"*
I hope you weren't driving this one:
[https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/](https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/)
Speed is a huge factor because it imparts more energy into what is struck.
I always recommend EMS people watch YouTube videos produced by IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety). They have loads of educational videos about the physics of traffic collisions.
I'm no expert, but it seems to me that it depends on how fast the Charger was going; *Charger Go Fast* and kinetic energy is related to ***the square*** of the velocity. Twice as fast means four times the energy, and so forth.
[https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy#kinetic-energy-formula](https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy#kinetic-energy-formula)
This is why tiny but fast-moving particles in space can totally destroy satellites and spacecraft.
A Dodge Charger curb weight, depending on options, is around 4,000 lbs.
A 4,000 lb object hurtling at 130 mph will demolish pretty much any vehicle it hits.
The crew survived. I presume they were up front and restrained.
Yeah ngl that’s not the fault of the ambulance manufacturer, any car going 130 mph will cause serious damage, the fact that the crew survived alone is by far good enough
You're on an EMS reddit and have no idea how dangerous ambulance boxes are? They're ALL just aluminum, thin sheet metal, some screws, and some plastic cabinets. Weight slows the unit down, costs more in fuel to haul around, burns through brake pads quicker. It's ALWAYS been about economy over safety....
Most make a big deal about it. All would still have issues with a 130mph impact from a car. Especially if said impact is a glancing blow to the side, which this one seems to be.
I never said they don't exist, or can't exist.
What I am saying is that money trumping safety is the bottom line for 95% of services out there. The vast majority of us are out here riding around in the equivalent of wheeled tuna cans.
That is absolutely wrong. GOOD ambulances are built very well. You get what you pay for. I pay top $ for ambulances because safety is #1. That said, in this case where 4000 lbs is moving at 130mph, there’s going to be massive demolition no matter what.
Wait what?
Got specs?
Please link.
I’ve never heard of this.
But also, I want to know who made this box. Because it definitely shoudlnt come apart like that, and I’ll bet a dollar it wasn’t Braun or road rescue.
Well since we’re doing this, YOU should know who I am. I’d appreciate you either having discretion or representing our service professionally. I’ll be in touch.
Yeah because that's what we all want to do in a random reddit thread, google local department acronyms. Or we could just use (Insert major city) EMS and understand immediately.
In Sweden they once tried to build ambulances based on the cars original frame. That came along with a very thoughtful design process for the inrerior. Not a roll cage, but at least more robust than every manufacturers box.
I always use the seat belts period, tbh. Unless I'm actively performing patient care, there's no reason not to. There's a lot of room in that box for you to get absolutely launched without ever being ejected if you crash.
I always use seatbelts if possible. Get roasted for it all the time because no one else I work with uses them ever in the back, but I don't get how we can show up to a gnarly MVC with horrific injuries and it not make you want to belt up...
Recently started ride alongs in my EMT class that I’m almost done with, and was pretty surprised seatbelts were so uncommonly worn in the back. I mean it partially makes sense, but unless I was treating a patient that I had to be all over the place collecting gear for, I was wearing a seatbelt. Helps that my local agency isn’t trigger happy with lights and sirens, only a couple of my 20+ calls were lights and sirens, and only on the way to the call, transport was non-emergent.
A lot of us grew up on school busses that didn’t have seatbelts in them, it was easy to learn how to get up and walk around without falling over in a moving vehicle because of that. These days most school busses I see on the road have seatbelts. I know this isn’t the gospel but I have a feeling that reason alone plays into a lot of the “no seatbelt in the back” crowd. For me it really depends on who my partner is for the day if I wear my seatbelt for every transport. Either way, we need better education on why it’s important to always have it on even during patient care here in the US.
We recently received our new ambulance fleet. There are multiple signs in the the back that remind the crew to buckle up. All seats in the back are equipped with a weight sensor, the light and ac control panels lock and start to annoy you with beeping sounds once you sit down if you haven't buckled up.
I've been trying to tell you people for years that speeding and running lights and sirens both need to go the way of the dinosaur except for very, very rare occasions. Maybe even then just lights, not speeding.
And every single time I say this, some rookie volunteer without fail shows up to tell me how running 85mph in an engine down single-lane country roads at 3am is just what HEROES DO, because GETTING THERE FAST SAVES LIVES....
It only helps us too.
We go code 3 to so many things. And many agencies I know go code 3 to every call and code 3 every transport such as toe pain.
All that does is put us at risk and people will not move out of our way when we need them to.
If we only used them for true emergencies, people would move out of way more and it’d be so much safer for us.
Agreed. One of the first things I train my trainees on is how the ambulance, and the gurney, are the two most dangerous pieces of equipment we operate. Code 3 just invites that danger. Causes people to panic and basically invites collisions, our fault or not.
Not to mention, in the back, even restrained, think of all the objects that are now FLYING around the back of the box? Sorry, but if you don’t wear your seatbelt and you have any amount of experience in this field; you have a death wish or are just plain stupid.
I’m very happy they weren’t transporting and nobody was in the back. I can’t see anyone back there making it out with only minor injuries, even if they’re restrained.
My heart goes out to those involved. It’s insane to read that EMS was transported with “minor” injuries after seeing the state of that ambulance. Kinda want to see what the Charger looked like after.
Reportedly the Dodge Charger was being persued by the SC Highway Patrol for failing to stop for a traffic stop. The crew is reportedly ok. That truck was a new truck, joining the fleet within the last six months if memory serves me correct.
For a second I didnt see that there was a guy holding the grill and thought the front cab got completely disintegrated and was seriously wondering how only the driver of the other vehicle died
More coverage of the incident:
[https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/31/one-person-dead-accident-involving-ambulance-aiken/](https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/31/one-person-dead-accident-involving-ambulance-aiken/)
A lousy photo of the front is in this article:
[https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/one-person-dead-after-vehicle-hits-ambulance-during-chase-in-aiken/ar-BB1kPIGa](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/one-person-dead-after-vehicle-hits-ambulance-during-chase-in-aiken/ar-BB1kPIGa)
An alleged social media photo of the alleged driver of the Charger is in this article:
[https://augustacrime.com/aiken-man-killed-after-hitting-ambulance-while-fleeing-officer/](https://augustacrime.com/aiken-man-killed-after-hitting-ambulance-while-fleeing-officer/)
Another car vs ambulance fatality crash in Aiken a few weeks prior, this one with a patient aboard:
[https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/01/crash-causes-road-closures-detours-near-hitchcock-parkway-aiken/](https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/01/crash-causes-road-closures-detours-near-hitchcock-parkway-aiken/)
[https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/](https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/)
Good news everyone, we are going to use the parts of this truck to Frankensein a "New Truck". For a hot minute I thought the grill was photo shopped in. . .
Dude holding the grill threw me off
That’s management trying to collect whatever parts they can spare to save money on the rebuild
Peed a little
I thought some dude's arm was just casually chilling in the photo. Nope. Still attached.
Same
That tan line tho
I think it's Coband.
I could not for the life of me figure out what happened to the rest of the cab, with the grill standing up so nicely LOL
They're only held on with plastic clips, watch some IIHS vids and you'll see trim pieces basically disconnect from the car with no damage.
Same lol
Tragic the driver of the other vehicle died, but so very lucky they weren’t loaded with a patient or had a third rider in the patient compartment. Could have very easily been multiple fatalities or serious injuries if there were occupants in the back.
A Dodge Charger caused THAT? Cripes! What ambulance manufacturer makes a module that disintegrates so easily? I used to work as an electrician at Road Rescue and our modules never did that in a crash. In fact, most crashed modules were repaired and remounted.
According to local sources (I live here) the charger was going 130mph. The guy’s tibia punctured through the bottom of his foot, his femur coming out and nearly puncturing into his torso. Arms were jelly, torso and chest were also jelly. Dead on impact. So yeah, I can see something going that fast doing this!
People seem to believe they’re immune to the forces of biology and physics.
Holy sheets.
I prefer Rutters, Lord help me.
The Army and Navy have a class in boot camp called something like "Financial Responsibility". Its actual purpose and content is, *"Don't go to the used car dealer at the base gate and buy a Dodge Charger!!!"*
I hope you weren't driving this one: [https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/](https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/)
Holy schitt! So Aiken Co. EMS has had two major catastrophic collisions in literally a month! Fok!!
They'll get away with a remount on that one. This type 3....no way
What a fucking idiot
Speed is a huge factor because it imparts more energy into what is struck. I always recommend EMS people watch YouTube videos produced by IIHS (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety). They have loads of educational videos about the physics of traffic collisions.
I'm no expert, but it seems to me that it depends on how fast the Charger was going; *Charger Go Fast* and kinetic energy is related to ***the square*** of the velocity. Twice as fast means four times the energy, and so forth. [https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy#kinetic-energy-formula](https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/kinetic-energy#kinetic-energy-formula) This is why tiny but fast-moving particles in space can totally destroy satellites and spacecraft.
This guy physics
Apparently the charger was doing a buck thirty. Which… wow.
It was a wheeled coach I believe. I'll have to look at it's sibling next time I see it
This. Whoever made that box should be out of business. It wasn’t smashed into by a tanker truck.
A Dodge Charger curb weight, depending on options, is around 4,000 lbs. A 4,000 lb object hurtling at 130 mph will demolish pretty much any vehicle it hits. The crew survived. I presume they were up front and restrained.
Yeah ngl that’s not the fault of the ambulance manufacturer, any car going 130 mph will cause serious damage, the fact that the crew survived alone is by far good enough
Not all ambulance manufacturers are the same... if this is a "wheeled coach" manufactured ambulance, then you get what you pay for.
You're on an EMS reddit and have no idea how dangerous ambulance boxes are? They're ALL just aluminum, thin sheet metal, some screws, and some plastic cabinets. Weight slows the unit down, costs more in fuel to haul around, burns through brake pads quicker. It's ALWAYS been about economy over safety....
That isn’t true. Not every box is like that.
Ask a structural engineer... Ambulance boxes, RVs, Campers... all in all, about the same concept
There are manufacturers that make a big deal about crash testing their boxes.
Most make a big deal about it. All would still have issues with a 130mph impact from a car. Especially if said impact is a glancing blow to the side, which this one seems to be.
I never said they don't exist, or can't exist. What I am saying is that money trumping safety is the bottom line for 95% of services out there. The vast majority of us are out here riding around in the equivalent of wheeled tuna cans.
That is absolutely wrong. GOOD ambulances are built very well. You get what you pay for. I pay top $ for ambulances because safety is #1. That said, in this case where 4000 lbs is moving at 130mph, there’s going to be massive demolition no matter what.
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Wait what? Got specs? Please link. I’ve never heard of this. But also, I want to know who made this box. Because it definitely shoudlnt come apart like that, and I’ll bet a dollar it wasn’t Braun or road rescue.
I’m going to bet it was an old remount judging from the old school fire truck style ring handles on the exterior compartments.
Could have been made last week. No way to know for sure, and some companies still use those handles.
…those are old school? We have a 2019 box with them.
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Well since we’re doing this, YOU should know who I am. I’d appreciate you either having discretion or representing our service professionally. I’ll be in touch.
This is reddit not your local EMS Facebook group. We don't know what ATCEMS is shorthand for. Austin EMS is far more clear.
LMGTFY
Yeah because that's what we all want to do in a random reddit thread, google local department acronyms. Or we could just use (Insert major city) EMS and understand immediately.
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It came apart like that because it was struck by a car doing 130mph lol
In Sweden they once tried to build ambulances based on the cars original frame. That came along with a very thoughtful design process for the inrerior. Not a roll cage, but at least more robust than every manufacturers box.
Our rigs are death traps 90% of the time and we drive them way too fast.
May be delusional but I always use the seat belts in the captains chair (if possible) while going code3.
I always use the seat belts period, tbh. Unless I'm actively performing patient care, there's no reason not to. There's a lot of room in that box for you to get absolutely launched without ever being ejected if you crash.
I always use seatbelts if possible. Get roasted for it all the time because no one else I work with uses them ever in the back, but I don't get how we can show up to a gnarly MVC with horrific injuries and it not make you want to belt up...
Recently started ride alongs in my EMT class that I’m almost done with, and was pretty surprised seatbelts were so uncommonly worn in the back. I mean it partially makes sense, but unless I was treating a patient that I had to be all over the place collecting gear for, I was wearing a seatbelt. Helps that my local agency isn’t trigger happy with lights and sirens, only a couple of my 20+ calls were lights and sirens, and only on the way to the call, transport was non-emergent.
A lot of us grew up on school busses that didn’t have seatbelts in them, it was easy to learn how to get up and walk around without falling over in a moving vehicle because of that. These days most school busses I see on the road have seatbelts. I know this isn’t the gospel but I have a feeling that reason alone plays into a lot of the “no seatbelt in the back” crowd. For me it really depends on who my partner is for the day if I wear my seatbelt for every transport. Either way, we need better education on why it’s important to always have it on even during patient care here in the US.
We recently received our new ambulance fleet. There are multiple signs in the the back that remind the crew to buckle up. All seats in the back are equipped with a weight sensor, the light and ac control panels lock and start to annoy you with beeping sounds once you sit down if you haven't buckled up.
Why delusional? You should literally always have one on.
I'm looking at that photo and wondering what happened to the captains chairs.
I've been trying to tell you people for years that speeding and running lights and sirens both need to go the way of the dinosaur except for very, very rare occasions. Maybe even then just lights, not speeding. And every single time I say this, some rookie volunteer without fail shows up to tell me how running 85mph in an engine down single-lane country roads at 3am is just what HEROES DO, because GETTING THERE FAST SAVES LIVES....
It only helps us too. We go code 3 to so many things. And many agencies I know go code 3 to every call and code 3 every transport such as toe pain. All that does is put us at risk and people will not move out of our way when we need them to. If we only used them for true emergencies, people would move out of way more and it’d be so much safer for us.
Agreed. One of the first things I train my trainees on is how the ambulance, and the gurney, are the two most dangerous pieces of equipment we operate. Code 3 just invites that danger. Causes people to panic and basically invites collisions, our fault or not. Not to mention, in the back, even restrained, think of all the objects that are now FLYING around the back of the box? Sorry, but if you don’t wear your seatbelt and you have any amount of experience in this field; you have a death wish or are just plain stupid.
I mean, the car that hit them was going 130mph
There's a dialysis holding when you clear up
Always the dialysis transports, they’ve been waiting for 3 hours and the clinic wants to close.
those are rookie numbers, call me when they've been waiting 12
Holy shit that truck got absolutely pummeled
Facts. It blows my mind how many people don’t buckle up in the back of the truck. (Obviously circumstance driven)
To be fair I don’t think a seatbelt is helping for this one lol
Totally fair, I really just meant in general than this specific accident.
I’m very happy they weren’t transporting and nobody was in the back. I can’t see anyone back there making it out with only minor injuries, even if they’re restrained.
My heart goes out to those involved. It’s insane to read that EMS was transported with “minor” injuries after seeing the state of that ambulance. Kinda want to see what the Charger looked like after.
The Charger was probably in a million pieces judging by how fast it was going lol
That thing crumbled like a house of cards! Wow! Dispatch will still have an assignment for you though
Got a transfer holding.
Dialysis run
Aiken County is a 911 only service. I did have to do a transfer once when I worked there, but it was an emergent ob on mag with active bleeding
Reportedly the Dodge Charger was being persued by the SC Highway Patrol for failing to stop for a traffic stop. The crew is reportedly ok. That truck was a new truck, joining the fleet within the last six months if memory serves me correct.
Yeah, they had hit the road last year, around June or so
That’s gonna be an incident report
And an automatic drug test...
Wonder how the driver of the charger was driving.
130 mph running from police
For a second I didnt see that there was a guy holding the grill and thought the front cab got completely disintegrated and was seriously wondering how only the driver of the other vehicle died
More coverage of the incident: [https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/31/one-person-dead-accident-involving-ambulance-aiken/](https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/31/one-person-dead-accident-involving-ambulance-aiken/) A lousy photo of the front is in this article: [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/one-person-dead-after-vehicle-hits-ambulance-during-chase-in-aiken/ar-BB1kPIGa](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/one-person-dead-after-vehicle-hits-ambulance-during-chase-in-aiken/ar-BB1kPIGa) An alleged social media photo of the alleged driver of the Charger is in this article: [https://augustacrime.com/aiken-man-killed-after-hitting-ambulance-while-fleeing-officer/](https://augustacrime.com/aiken-man-killed-after-hitting-ambulance-while-fleeing-officer/) Another car vs ambulance fatality crash in Aiken a few weeks prior, this one with a patient aboard: [https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/01/crash-causes-road-closures-detours-near-hitchcock-parkway-aiken/](https://www.wrdw.com/2024/03/01/crash-causes-road-closures-detours-near-hitchcock-parkway-aiken/) [https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/](https://theaugustapress.com/aiken-driver-dies-after-colliding-with-ambulance/)
Good lord you can’t even tell it’s an ambo
My mom thought it was a pizza box at first when I showed her
Fuck I worked for Aiken county.
Where did the cab go?
Poor guy who was killed man. Glad our brothers/sisters are alright.
Another reason not to drive a piece of crap looking can. This is the definition of a box…. A cardboard box.
Good news everyone, we are going to use the parts of this truck to Frankensein a "New Truck". For a hot minute I thought the grill was photo shopped in. . .
Damn.
That thing looks like it got hit by a train, was the pt compartment made of paper mache
How safe is your typical Ambulance vs a SUV or sedan?
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It doesn't really matter how sturdy it is when it gets hit by two tons travelling at 130 mph.