PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are investigating a fatal crash involving an ambulance driver who is suspected of driving under the influence. The infant on board died and the mother was seriously injured.
The crash happened around 5:15 a.m. Sunday at the intersection of Torresdale and Harbison avenues in Frankford.
Investigators said a privately operated ambulance, carrying the 1-month-old girl and her mother, was speeding south on Torresdale Avenue when it ran a red light at Harbison Avenue and struck the driver's side of a 2010 Honda Accord.
According to officials, the ambulance's lights or sirens were not activated at the time.
Police said the impact ejected the infant and her mother through the ambulance's front windshield. Both were found unresponsive on the roadway.
They were transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where the infant was pronounced dead. The mother suffered severe head trauma and is in critical condition.
At first, police said they got a call about an unresponsive infant at a home on Ditmann Street. But before cops got there, they said the baby and her mother were already in a private ambulance: Medstar EMS.
The 25-year-old driver of the Honda refused medical treatment at the scene.
Police arrested the 51-year-old ambulance driver at the scene. Sources told KYW Newsradio's newsgathering partner NBC10 that he's related to the victims.
Authorities said the driver is expected to face DUI and other charges, but District Attorney Larry Krasner's office said in a statement Sunday night that no charges had been filed and an investigation is ongoing.
"A PPD request for charges has not been submitted to the DAO at this time," the statement read, in part. "While PPD's and our forensic and investigative process may take some [time], we are committed to a fair, appropriate and just outcome."
The medical examiner still has to determine the cause of death. It isn't clear if the infant died because of the health emergency that was initially reported or from the crash.
