Ambulance-Van Crash Kills 2

NORTHRIDGE —  Police are trying to determine whether the driver of a private ambulance had a legitimate reason to be traveling with lights flashing and siren sounding when it collided with a van Monday, killing a 40-year-old man and a 10-year-old girl.

The 5:30 a.m. accident, involving four vehicles, left six other people injured and snarled morning commuter traffic.

The ambulance, which had no patients aboard, may have run a red light just before the crash, police said.

“It’s still not clear where the ambulance was going and whether it was a situation appropriate to be traveling” with its siren and lights on, said LAPD Capt. Alan Kerstein, commanding officer of the Valley Traffic Division.

If the ambulance was responding to an emergency, it’s justifiable that the vehicle was being driven in that manner, Kerstein said. But if the ambulance was in emergency mode without a legitimate reason, then a criminal filing is possible, he said.

“Our preliminary investigation shows that it looks like an error on the part of the [ambulance] driver,” said Det. Mark Talkington, the lead investigator. “It would appear to be a red-light violation, though we’re not sure.”

Luis Schaeffer, the ambulance driver, will be questioned by detectives today in the presence of his attorney, police said. Schaeffer was with his partner Tad Stines, a medical technician, at the time of the crash.

The MedTrans ambulance was traveling south on Corbin Avenue when it struck a van heading east on Nordhoff Street, ejecting the man and the young girl, police said.

The victims, whose names were not released pending notification of relatives, were pronounced dead at the scene. A 3-year-old girl riding in the van was also injured, and two other cars were involved in the crash.

Edward A. Rose, senior vice president of Glendale-based MedTrans, said the ambulance was responding to a call from a private nursing home in the Northridge area where a patient was suffering from shortness of breath. Rose declined to take a position on fault in the accident.

“We have not yet been able to meet with our crew, so many of the details are sketchy even to us. I don’t have enough information on which to make a claim one way or another,” he said.

Rose said his company will conduct its own investigation into the accident, and that Schaeffer and Stines, who both suffered minor injuries, were expected to be interviewed by company executives late Monday.

Under state law, an ambulance with its lights and siren activated may pass through a red traffic light, but the burden is on the driver not to endanger people or property. Rose said his company’s policy is more stringent, requiring the driver to stop at a red light and make sure the intersection is clear before proceeding.

Typically, private ambulances operating in Los Angeles do not respond to 911 calls, according to Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman. Such calls are usually handled by Fire Department paramedics.

Private ambulances “are usually involved in urgent as opposed to emergency calls. However, they are capable of transferring emergency calls,” Humphrey said.

According to Humphrey, private ambulances most commonly respond to inter-facility transfers, such as when a patient needs to be moved from one hospital to another.

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Rose said police pulled from the ambulance a device known as a “fail safe,” which is installed in emergency vehicles and records certain driving information. He said the information is not as detailed as that recorded by the “black boxes” used in passenger aircraft, but it may help determine whether mechanical failure was a factor.

He said his company, which provides medical transportation under contract to local governments and private medical facilities throughout Southern California, adheres to higher safety standards than required by state law. All of its drivers undergo annual training sessions. Schaeffer, a certified ambulance driver for two years, completed his most recent training one year ago.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victims,” said Rose. “This is a terrible tragedy.”

Tamaki is a Times staff writer and Ryfle is a correspondent.