MARCH 3, 2015
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND
A Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services ambulance slid
down a hill on a Silver Spring road and struck two people, including a woman
who was injured after she slipped on ice and fell.
Fire services spokesman Pete Piringer said the ambulance was responding to a call about an injured woman around 8 p.m. Tuesday night when the ambulance lost traction on ice at the bottom of Cameron Hill Court and hit the woman and a male neighbor at low speed.
The man, who was assisting the woman, was able to jump out of the way, but was still brushed by the ambulance, according to Piringer, while the woman suffered a more serious leg injury. Piringer said the paramedics immediately treated both victims and called for help from additional units, which left their vehicles at the top of the hill. Both the man and woman were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“Fortunately, the injuries were not serious,” Piringer said. He said the townhouse neighborhood had not treated the brick sidewalks or the road at the time of the incident, leading to slick surfaces. The neighborhood is off of Ramsey Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, not far from the Discovery Communications headquarters.
The paramedics were not injured in the collision, Piringer said.
The incident happened during what became a wild night for firefighters as a light rain coupled with low temperatures created icy conditions around the county. Piringer said firefighters responded to a high percentage of calls between 5 and 8 p.m. from people who had fallen on ice. Conditions in Burtonsville were so icy that the Route 29 bridge over Route 198 had to be closed around 10 p.m. due to several wrecks on the road.
Fire services spokesman Pete Piringer said the ambulance was responding to a call about an injured woman around 8 p.m. Tuesday night when the ambulance lost traction on ice at the bottom of Cameron Hill Court and hit the woman and a male neighbor at low speed.
The man, who was assisting the woman, was able to jump out of the way, but was still brushed by the ambulance, according to Piringer, while the woman suffered a more serious leg injury. Piringer said the paramedics immediately treated both victims and called for help from additional units, which left their vehicles at the top of the hill. Both the man and woman were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
“Fortunately, the injuries were not serious,” Piringer said. He said the townhouse neighborhood had not treated the brick sidewalks or the road at the time of the incident, leading to slick surfaces. The neighborhood is off of Ramsey Avenue in downtown Silver Spring, not far from the Discovery Communications headquarters.
The paramedics were not injured in the collision, Piringer said.
The incident happened during what became a wild night for firefighters as a light rain coupled with low temperatures created icy conditions around the county. Piringer said firefighters responded to a high percentage of calls between 5 and 8 p.m. from people who had fallen on ice. Conditions in Burtonsville were so icy that the Route 29 bridge over Route 198 had to be closed around 10 p.m. due to several wrecks on the road.