California Ambulance Strikes House after Crash with SUV

A Medic Ambulance crashed into a Vallejo home Thursday morning, after it collided with a Chevy Tahoe, fire officials said.

The accident, which is still under investigation, happened at about 8:30 a.m., when the 2003 silver Chevy Tahoe and the ambulance hit, said Vallejo Fire Department spokesman Bill Tweedy. The ambulance then careened into a single family home's garage on De Anza Drive near Tuolumne and Redwood streets.

The ambulance driver, a paramedic and a trainee as well as four people in the Chevy Tahoe - including three children - were taken to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Vallejo for treatment of non life-threatening injuries, said Medic Ambulance spokesman Jimmy Pierson.

No one was inside the home, Tweedy said.

The ambulance crew was "going the normal speed, not speeding, and they went around to the left, like they're supposed to, and a car turned left onto De Anza from Redwood, right in front of them," Pierson said. "But thank God our driver was so good. It could have been much worse."

The ambulance workers were wearing seat belts and were treated and released from the hospital, Pierson said. Two of the children in the Chevy Tahoe complained of minor injuries, he said.

The ambulance was "totaled," Pierson said.

"The crew came on at 8 a.m., and this was their first call - a private medical call," he said. "It was a big shock, when we got a call from the crew that they were out of service and they actually went into the house."

There have been several crashes involving Vallejo public service vehicles in recent months.

In late August, a police car drove into the garage of a house on El Dorado and Maine streets after chasing two suspects in a possible stolen vehicle.

In March, a Vallejo policeman and a young woman were rushed to the hospital after a crash at North Camino Alto and Redwood Street. In that case, the officer suffered a cut and the 19-year-old Vallejo woman in the other car required extrication.

Also, a Vallejo fire engine crashed into R & R Tire and Brake Service, at Fifth Street and Solano Avenue on July 5. After the crash, an investigation determined the engine, which was responding to an early morning structure fire, was driving twice the speed limit.

And in January 2005, a Vallejo garbage truck struck a power pole, causing a major power outage affecting nearly 3,000 customers, including several schools, businesses and government offices.

Just last week, a Vallejo Garbage Services truck was rear-ended on Sonoma Boulevard by a Budget rental truck.

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