Paramedic in fatal crash to face jury trial

[five_alarm]

KAMLOOPS, BC - A Merritt paramedic who allegedly killed a 69-year-old woman when the ambulance she was driving broadsided the victim's car at a highway intersection last October will have her case heard in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops.

Della Faye Field is charged with dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing bodily harm in connection with the Oct. 4 fatal crash on Highway 97C near Merritt.

Field, a paramedic with the B.C. Ambulance Service, was allegedly behind the wheel of an ambulance that slammed into the side of 1995 Lincoln Continental at the intersection of the Coquihalla Highway and Highway 97C. According to police, the ambulance had its lights and sirens activated and was heading for the scene of another motor-vehicle accident at the time.

Source: Vancouver Sun (http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=928c0e27-e05b-467c-be5e-b1b71993b9a9)

[five_alarm]

KAMLOOPS, B.C. - An ambulance driver charged with dangerous driving causing death after she smashed into a car while she rushed off to another accident has been acquitted. Friends and co-workers of Della Field clapped and cheered in the courtroom Friday after she was found not guilty. The crash happened at the intersection of the Coquihalla and Highway 97C in October 2004.

The Crown alleged Field ran a red light and struck the Vancouver couple's car in the middle of the intersection. Eleanor Marko, 69, was killed and her husband David Marko, 70, was seriously injured. Court heard Field was driving with lights and sirens going and that she was travelling about 73 kmh when her ambulance struck the car.

Source: edmontonsun.com (http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2006/03/07/1476318-sun.html)

[Scuba]

An ambulance driver charged with dangerous driving

<insert scuba humor laden crack about ambulance drivers....>

.....Then look below....Anyone that knows me knows that there is nothing intentionaly being said to cause firemedic's reaction....none the less it spiked something - so I'll edit my post. Sorry to anyone that took it wrong.....no harm was intended.

[firemedic379]

Hi Scuba,

Number ONE: Della is a female and it mentions that "she" was driving the ambulance so you might want to read the whole article and the whole purpose of the article was to point out SHE IS NOT GUILTY!!!

Number Two: CUPE 873 has defeading one their sisters in arms here, all of us here are very supportive of her and I am glad to see that you can tar and feather a fellow person so quick. Have you been to the intersection in question? Do you know the Merritt area well enough to comment? Having drving code 3 through the particular intersection it is challenging. What the article falls to mention is the gentleman driving the car was timing the light so he would hit it on the green and there is a 3/4 km lead up to the intersection that you cannot miss if an ambulance or other vehicle is coming the other way. Hence why she was found NOT GUILTY!!!
Now granted she was speeding up thinking the individual was stopping and thats why the speed was 73kph.

Number Three: Not familar with your background, but have you been in an MVA responding to a call? Judging by the calass comment I would say no and I hope for your sake you never do.

Thanks for your support.

Just my rant.

Derek

[BCFFFV]

Hi Scuba,

Number ONE: Della is a female and it mentions that "she" was driving the ambulance so you might want to read the whole article and the whole purpose of the article was to point out SHE IS NOT GUILTY!!!

Number Two: CUPE 873 has defeading one their sisters in arms here, all of us here are very supportive of her and I am glad to see that you can tar and feather a fellow person so quick. Have you been to the intersection in question? Do you know the Merritt area well enough to comment? Having drving code 3 through the particular intersection it is challenging. What the article falls to mention is the gentleman driving the car was timing the light so he would hit it on the green and there is a 3/4 km lead up to the intersection that you cannot miss if an ambulance or other vehicle is coming the other way. Hence why she was found NOT GUILTY!!!
Now granted she was speeding up thinking the individual was stopping and thats why the speed was 73kph.

Number Three: Not familar with your background, but have you been in an MVA responding to a call? Judging by the calass comment I would say no and I hope for your sake you never do.

Thanks for your support.

Just my rant.

Derek


FireMedic379.....R-E-L-A-X a bit here. You missed an inside joke that was started when a paramedic on here got his undies in a knot about being called an "ambulance driver" Nobody here is judging the person involved in this case. I can see you are sensitive about it and that's fair also. I'm glad to see that the person was found not guilty. And I'm sure SCUBA probably is also. Nobody was meaning to offend anyone I'm positive about that.

[Scuba]

FireMedic379.....R-E-L-A-X a bit here. You missed an inside joke that was started when a paramedic on here got his undies in a knot about being called an "ambulance driver" Nobody here is judging the person involved in this case. I can see you are sensitive about it and that's fair also. I'm glad to see that the person was found not guilty. And I'm sure SCUBA probably is also. Nobody was meaning to offend anyone I'm positive about that.


Check your PM's firemedic...... & Thanks BCFFFV - nothing but some light hearted humor was intended and yeah it's great to see the courts actually doing something right now and then....

[frfghtr]

Check your PM's firemedic...... & Thanks BCFFFV - nothing but some light hearted humor was intended and yeah it's great to see the courts actually doing something right now and then....

Someone called me an aerial-ladder driver the other day and I lost it. NOT! Big deal. Some one has to drive it. And at the time, he was right.

Personally, people should relax a bit and not take "light hearted humor" so seriously. Call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner.

The main thing is that this individual was cleared of any wrong doing. That said, our upcoming junior drivers have to realize that we can not break the law but bend it. We do not run red lights and stop signs but stop or slow down to a crawl until it is safe to proceed and not really speed but it looks that way when all others are stopped. If you break the rules, you will and should be held accountable.

Stay safe and think safety.

[firemedic379]

Alright, reading postings after a couple of crown n cokes not a good idea sorry I am Irish. I will endovor not to do that again, lol.

Cheers,

Derek