Four people recovering after ambulance crashes into toll booth
Click here for updates on this story
NEWCASTLE, OK (KFOR) — Four people are recovering after an ambulance crashed into a toll booth early Friday morning.
“It pretty much tore the ambulance in half,” said Lt. Kerry Massie with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.
The Jackson County ambulance was shredded.
The driver slammed into a toll booth between Newcastle and Chickasha on the H. E. Bailey Turnpike.
“As she entered the gate, she struck the crash attenuator. After striking the attenuator, she proceeded through the gate, struck a toll booth which had the toll attendant inside the toll booth itself,” said Massie.
The impact flipped the toll booth on its side, shattering glass all over the ground. The toll booth worker is now at home recovering.
She was rushed to the hospital and then treated and released.
“It was a horrific accident and obviously there’s a lot of damage, and our first concern is always with the individuals that were involved,” said Exec. Director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Tim Gatz.
Inside the ambulance – two paramedics and a patient.
All were flown to the hospital as well.
One paramedic was treated and released, the other is in good condition.
The patient’s condition is said to be serious.
Troopers say they have an idea of what happened.
“Our theory at this point and it’s a theory, is that the driver fell asleep, bounced off one of the barriers and once they hit the barrier they hit that concrete over there where the toll booth is,” said Capt. Kurt McKean with OHP.
The turnpike authority says they’ll work around the clock to fix major damage to the canopy and toll booth before they reopen.
They’re trying to keep the tens of thousands of drivers that use the route daily safe.
“It’s been a horrific accident and we want to make sure the structure is absolutely safe before we reopen the facility,” said Gatz.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
