PHOTOS | 4 hurt after ambulance en route to pick up patient collides with private vehicle in Manila
Photos by and with reports from Bernard Testa
Four people were injured after a private vehicle and an ambulance on the way to pick up a patient crashed into one another in Manila on Friday, almost two weeks after roads were rendered practically empty by an order that told people to stay home to curb the spread of Covid-19.
All four — two from the private vehicle and another two from the ambulance — were rushed to a nearby hospital, said Antonio Riva III, the first responder on the scene that took place right under the Quirino Avenue station of the Light Rail Transit along Taft Avenue in Manila.
When he arrived on the scene, Riva said he already saw the female passenger of the private vehicle already seated on the ground. Their injuries were mitigated because they were wearing seatbelts and the vehicle deployed its airbags during the impact, said Riva, who belonged to the medical team of Caloocan Representative Edgar Erice.
Meanwhile, the female medical volunteer seated in front of the ambulance was hardest hit, Riva said. It took time before she was able to get out of the vehicle because she was stuck underneath the dashboard that collapsed in the crash.
The driver of the private vehicle said that she didn’t see nor hear the ambulance coming because she didn’t hear any siren, a claim that the ambulance driver denied, Riva said.
