Interstate 80 Ambulance Rollover Cause Determined

DAVENPORT, IA — Black ice on Interstate 80 was responsible for an ambulance rollover near West Branch on Sunday afternoon. The ambulance was equipped with a safety device that collects data that can determine how the vehicle was being driven at the time of a collision.

Speed was not a factor in Monday's crash, Scott County Emergency Medical Services fleet manager Jeremy Pessman told WQAD. The emergency vehicle, which was transporting a passenger, flipped upside down and crashed into a ditch. The patient, ambulance driver and ambulance attendant received minor injuries.

"We were able to look at that and see that speed was not a factor in this case; it was just a case of Iowa winter weather and a piece of black ice," Pessman told the TV station. He said Scott County Emergency Medical Services department is in the process of installing Road Safety devices manufactured by Zoll in 20 emergency vehicles and said in addition to collecting data for analysis, they emit a tone to alert the driver in real time in the case of excessive speed or unsafe driving.

"It ensures that we are driving the ambulance safely that the driver is not going too fast or going around the corners too sharp," Pessman told WQAD.

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