Okla. EMT Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Ambulance Crash

An ambulance driver accused of reckless driving and causing a fatal wreck on the way to an emergency call in Oklahoma City pleaded not guilty Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide.

Benjamin Samples, 36, was released on $2,000 bail Thursday. He entered his not guilty plea at an arraignment hearing Thursday in Oklahoma County District Court, his attorney said.

Samples, an emergency medical technician, was driving an Emergency Medical Services Authority ambulance Dec. 10 on NW 10 near May Avenue when the ambulance hit a Toyota Scion driven by Fidel Mesa-Solis. Mesa-Solis died in the wreck.

Police and prosecutors said Samples was driving more than 80 mph in a 40 mph zone in the moments before the wreck and had swerved into oncoming lanes to pass traffic.

Samples' attorney estimated Samples was driving in the 70s when the crash actually occurred.

EMSA regulations forbid drivers from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 mph and require drivers to slow to 15 mph when driving in oncoming lanes, a practice that is allowed but discouraged.

Samples' next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 18.

Copyright 2011 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City

McClatchy-Tribune News Service