Two crashes on Saturday are related
By Terry Murry on Monday, July 11th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
HERMISTON – Two crashes in the Hermiston area resulted in two injuries and an ambulance driver being cited by the Hermiston Police Department. The first crash occurred on Highway 395 outside the city limits. The second crash was at the intersection of North First Street and Elm Avenue (Highway 207).
The Oregon State Police reports that in the first crash, a Jeep Grand Cherokee operated by Brenda Isabel Ocampo De Leon, 27, of Hermiston, pulled out in front of Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by Dan Michael Vernon, 46, of Stanfield. Vernon was seriously injured and was taken by ground ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center for Life Flight transport to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Washington.
The trip to the hospital did not go smoothly. The Umatilla County Fire District No. 1 ambulance operated by William Dewitt, 34, of Hermiston collided with another vehicle at the intersection of North First Street and Elm Avenue. A second ambulance arrived at the scene and completed the transfer to Life Flight. A paramedic in the ambulance suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was treated at Good Shepherd.
The ambulance driver was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device.
“Operators of emergency vehicles can legally go through intersections, but have to follow the same rules of the road,” Edmiston said. “It is our belief that was not the case.”
An HPD officer was following the ambulance, without lights and sirens, several hundred yards behind it, just to ensure it arrived safely. When the collision occurred, Edmiston said the officer immediately activated his body-worn camera which is constantly recording.
“When the button is pushed, the clip goes back 30 seconds and so the collision was caught on camera,” Edmiston said.
No official word of Vernon’s condition has been released.
