DISTRICT HEIGHTS, MD -- Three men in an SUV were killed Thursday after crashing into an ambulance that was responding to a call.
The two paramedic/firefighters sustained minor injuries in the collision that occurred just after midnight.
The SUV was headed eastbound in the westbound lane of Marlboro Pike, according to Mark Brady, department spokesman.
The medic driving the ambulance took evasive action to avoid a head-on collision, Brady said.
Instead, the SUV side-swiped the ambulance, bounced off it and struck a brick wall and a utility pole before overturning.
"The whole right side of the ambulance was obliterated," Brady said, adding medical equipment was strewn several yards along the highway.
The occupants of the SUV were pronounced dead on the scene.
Mark Brady, spokesperson for Prince George's County Fire and Rescue, says the crash happened shortly after Midnight in the 5600 block of Marlboro Pike in District Heights. According to Brady, investigators believe ambulance 826 was traveling west on Marlboro Pike on it's way to an overdose call on Tanow Place when it came upon a GMC Suburban traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes at a high rate of speed. The ambulance, with emergency lights and siren activated, swerved to avoid a head-on collision. That's when the SUV side-swiped the ambulance and hit a brick wall and utility pole before landing on its roof. Brady says the SUV came to rest approximately 120 feet from where it struck the ambulance.
The SUV was occupied by three men, who were all pronounced dead at the scene. The two Firefighter/Medics in the ambulance were taken to a local trauma center for evaluation where they were treated and released.
