California Ambulance Likely Not at Fault in Crash into House

Though still under investigation, the driver of a Chevy Tahoe will likely be found at fault for the crash that sent a Medic Ambulance into a Vallejo home, a police source said Friday.

A final determination will take at least a week, Vallejo Police Sgt. Kelly Schroeder said.

The Thursday morning crash hurled the ambulance driven by EMT Owen Goodrum, 22, of Vallejo, into the garage of a home near Redwood Street and De Anza Drive, Schroeder said.

The emergency response vehicle and the Chevy were both traveling eastbound on Redwood when the crash occurred, Schroeder said. Minerva Rodrigues, 35, also of Vallejo, was driving the Chevy on an expired license, though her vehicle is registered and she presented insurance information, Schroeder said.

The ambulance was heading straight on Redwood with the Chevy right in front of it when the Chevy stopped to make a left turn onto De Anza, Schroeder said.

"She didn't realize there was an ambulance behind her," Schroeder said.

The collision ricocheted the ambulance into the house, he added.

"One vehicle went right and the other went left," he said.

Because the ambulance was traveling "Code 3," meaning its lights were flashing and its siren blaring, motorists were required to move out of the way to the right. So unless the ambulance driver is found to have been driving unsafely for the conditions, the crash will likely be determined to be Rodrigues' fault, Schroeder said.

"It's leaning that way, but we still have to talk to witnesses - other motorists and area residents," he said.

Besides Rodrigues, the Chevy contained several children, who were taken for "precautionary purposes" to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center-Vallejo for evaluation, Schroeder said. No one was seriously injured, he said. The Medic workers were transported by another Medic Ambulance, also to Kaiser, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.

E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.