Ambulance Struck When Driver Fails to Yield

WHITESBORO — A Cape May Court House Rescue Squad ambulance, en route to Cape Regional Medical Center (CRMC) with a patient on board, was struck by an SUV which had failed to come to a full stop as the ambulance made its way north on Route 9.
The accident, which occurred Thu., July 12 at 4:37 p.m., at the intersection of Route 9 and Main Street resulted in the driver of the ambulance, Joseph Sims, 48, of Erma suffered an injured shoulder. An crew member was sent to the hospital with minor injuries sustained when the ambulance’s airbag deployed.
According to police, the emergency vehicle, its lights and siren operational, was traveling north on Route 9 toward CRMC. As the vehicle made its way across Main Street, traffic cleared to allow passage.
Two cars pulled onto the shoulder of the highway, allowing the ambulance to pass. One car came to a full stop; a second car pulled over, but continued to drive forward along the shoulder of the road. The second car, a black 1998 Chevrolet Blazer, operated by John Kalin, 21, of North Wildood, struck the rear end of the stopped car and then lunged back into the roadway, striking the ambulance as it drove by.
“One vehicle stopped, like he was supposed to,” said Capt. John Edwards. “Another vehicle pulled over but was going to ride the shoulder.”
Edwards said the patient in the back of the ambulance was uninjured and was immediately transferred to another vehicle for transport to the hospital.
The driver of the first vehicle, which was struck in the rear, drove off from the scene and remains unknown.
The accident remains under investigation by Middle Township police.