Ambulance driver in fatal crash avoids criminal charges
An ambulance driver whose 77-year-old occupant was killed when she reportedly veered off a road in Dunkirk has been ticketed with failing to stay in the driving lane.
According to the New York State Police, 49-year-old Robin Morey, a driver for EmergyCare, is not facing criminal charges for the Feb. 14 crash that led to the death of Dunkirk resident Arthur R. McArthur.
Police said no driver negligence has been discovered.
However, police noted a camera inside the ambulance was reportedly not working at the time and Morey’s cellphone records are now being searched. An investigation is ongoing and further charges are still possible.
Calls placed to EmergyCare, a medical transportation company based in Erie, Pennsylvania, were not returned Thursday.
On Feb. 14, Morey was transporting McArthur from UPMC Hamot in Erie, Pa., to the Chautauqua Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dunkirk.
Shortly before 5:40 p.m., the ambulance, which was traveling eastbound on State Route 5 in Dunkirk, left the roadway, entered a ditch and struck a culvert.
Morey was taken to Brooks Memorial Hospital and later released. Police said there was no indication that alcohol or drugs were involved.
An EMT in the rear of the ambulance, Scott A. Fischer, 45, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to UPMC Hamot.
McArthur was pronounced dead at the scene and later taken to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo for an autopsy.