Criminal charges possible in fatal wreck in Clark County

Clark County

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July 7, 2009

Police: Ambulance crossed intersection at 60 mph

By MATT THACKER The News and Tribune Tue Jul 07, 2009, 02:02 PM EDT

A Clark County emergency medical services worker could face criminal charges after being involved in an accident that killed 75-year-old Opal Alene Couch, of Jeffersonville, says Clarksville Police Department Chief Dwight Ingle.

Couch was struck by the ambulance while driving a 2003 Lincoln Town Car at 2:09 p.m. Saturday. She was turning left onto Lewis and Clark Parkway near the Green Tree Mall in Clarksville.

Ingle said the ambulance was traveling through a red light at the intersection at about 60 mph with its lights and siren activated when the crash occurred. The speed limit is 35 mph.

The ambulance was in the left lane traveling westbound on Lewis and Clark Parkway at the Cedar Street intersection, according to an accident report. When the light turned red, the EMS driver proceeded through the light and struck the Town Car, which was turning left.

According to the accident report, Couch was pinned under her vehicle and had injuries to her entire body. She was declared dead at the scene.

Travis L. Herthel, 20, of Georgetown, was driving the ambulance, and Erica Stoffregen, 24, of Henryville, was the passenger. Both complained of pain to their lower arms and hands, but the injuries were not reported to be serious.

Herthel said they were making a run on a nonresponsive, nonbreathing individual, according to the accident report. He told police that he attempted to stop when the light turned red.

He said Couch pulled out into the intersection and was blocking all three lanes of traffic, so he tried to veer around her. When she accelerated, the two vehicles collided, he said.

The collision sent both vehicles across the median into oncoming traffic.

One witness said it appeared the sirens to the ambulance had been turned off just before the collision, the report says.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ms. Couch and her family and to our EMS workers and their families, and that’s all I can say at this point,” said Teresa Ball, public information officer for the Sellersburg Fire Department and Clark County EMS.

Ball would not say if Herthel has been placed on suspension or is still responding to calls. She also declined to explain the department’s standard procedures for responding to an emergency.

Ingle said he always tells his officers to use “caution” when traveling through an intersection even with their lights activated.

“You can’t help anybody if you don’t make it there,” he said.

Ingle said the accident reconstruction team with the Indiana State Police is assisting in CPD’s investigation. Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office.