No charges in New Jersey fire truck passes ambulance incident. Franklin Township police close case involving Quakertown’s fire co. & its EMS squad.
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Rescue 91 from Quakertown Fire Company website.
Statement from Quakertown Fire Company
One of the more interesting stories in recent days is this dispute in Hunterdon County, New Jersey where a fire company and EMS squad, already at odds with each other, have a run in during a response to an automobile accident. The crew from Quakertown Volunteer EMS is accusing the Quakertown Fire Company of forcing an ambulance off the road when Rescue 91 passed the EMS unit.
The latest information is that police confirm the passing incident occurred as had been previously described, but charges are not being filed by law enforcement. Here is the latest in excerpts from an article by Jim Deegan and Tom Quigley at LehighValleyLive.com:
Township Public Safety Director Kenneth Mandoli said police closed the investigation without issuing summonses but referred those involved to North Hunterdon municipal court, where they could make a complaint if they wished.
Mandoli said police weren’t in a position to file charges because they didn’t witness the incident and weren’t made aware of it until afterward.
“By the time the officer was investigating, it was the next day,” Mandoli said. “Since there was no contact made, they (police) were strictly going by statements, and there was no independent witnesses.”
Mandoli and a police report obtained by The Express-Times say fire company members wouldn’t answer questions by township police investigating the early Sunday morning incident until consulting an attorney.
“As far as we’re concerned, our end is closed,” he said.
The police report identifies the fire company driver as John Schutts and indicates he passed the Quakertown Volunteer EMS ambulance in a no-passing zone, forcing the ambulance driver and another oncoming driver to swerve into ditches to avoid a crash.
Police advised the outgoing president of the Quakertown Volunteer EMS, attorney David Evans, how his members could file complaints against Schutts, according to the police report.
Mandoli and the report said the rescue truck passed the ambulance as Patrolman Tim Wahba, on the scene of a Sidney Road one-car crash, told responding units to “expedite” because Wahba thought the crash victim might die.
The call to expedite came as the rescue truck was passing the ambulance, said Mandoli, who wouldn’t make a judgment on what happened.
As public safety director, Mandoli has authority over the police department but not the fire company.
“They are not exempt from the rules of the road, nor is any emergency responder,” Mandoli said. “It’s their duty to drive with due regard for safety. It was after midnight, they were told to expedite and for whatever reason they were told to get there as fast as they could.”
The fire company and the ambulance squad have been at odds for more than a year since the fire company announced plans to initiate a Quick Response Service to answer certain ambulance calls.
The police report says Schutts passed the ambulance on a short uphill section of Quakertown Road with a double-yellow line visible day or night. Both vehicles were eastbound shortly after midnight early Sunday.
A westbound pickup truck with blue emergency lights driven by fire department member Peter Enea III came into view as the firetruck was passing the squad vehicle driven by squad member Peter Colby, according to the police report and a squad member riding with Colby.
Enea, who was headed to the fire station after hearing the call, steered away from the oncoming rescue truck and into a ditch, the report said. He was able to re-enter the road, the report shows.
“Mr. Schutts swerved into the path of the ambulance in order to avoid collision (with the pickup),” the report states.
Colby turned to his right into a ditch. Both squad members were injured and later treated at Hunterdon County Medical Center and released.
