Police say an ambulance carrying patients crashed off a highway last month in the Kootenays after its driver fell asleep at the wheel.
RCMP said in a news release they were called to a single-vehicle crash on June 23 at 5:15 p.m. in the 4300 block of Highway 3B, near Rossland, B.C.
A Grand Forks man, 30, drove the ambulance off the right side of the highway after allegedly falling asleep at the wheel, police said.
He was not injured. His passenger, a 50-year-old Midway woman, received minor injuries.
The two patients being transported in the ambulance did not receive any injuries and the ambulance sustained minor damage.
“The RCMP notified BCEHS about the incident,” says Sgt. Mike Wicentowich.
In a statement to Castanet, BC Emergency Health Services says an "internal investigation" is underway into the crash.
"According to our information from dispatch, the call about the accident came in at 3:39 p.m. on June 23, 2023. At the time, the ambulance was transporting a patient between hospitals, along with a family escort," BCEHS said.
"Two ambulances responded and transported the patient, two paramedics, and the escort to hospital as a precaution, and for follow up."
A replacement ambulance has since been put into service and staffing and service levels in Grand Forks have not been affected.
