Ambulance carrying emergency patient overturns in Leicester
Drivers were stuck in long delays around Leicester this morning after an ambulance carrying an emergency patient was involved in a serious collision.
Officers from Leicestershire Police said Welford Road had been closed at Asquith Boulevard junction city-bound towards the Tesco Express in Lutterworth Road after an ambulance overturned.
Two ambulances and two paramedic cars attended the incident and one crew member in the overturned ambulance was taken to hospital.
The patient on board the ambulance involved in the collision also continued on their journey to hospital in another ambulance.
These pictures show the extent of the collision. Police were urging people to avoid the area.
Charlotte Walker, East Midlands Ambulance Service's head of operations for Leicestershire, said: “One of our ambulances transporting an emergency patient to hospital was involved in a serious road traffic collision at 6.24am on 12 May 2022 on Welford Road in Knighton.
"Multiple ambulance resources attended the incident, including two paramedics in fast response cars, two crewed ambulances and a doctor in a car.“The patient on board the ambulance at the time of the collision continued their journey to hospital in another ambulance.
"Following an assessment of both ambulance crew members involved in the collision, one of the crew has also been taken to hospital via ambulance.“The incident will be investigated by the police and it is therefore inappropriate to make any further comment at this time.”
Traffic information company Inrix said that the road past Saffron Hill Cemetery was heavy and that drivers were also experiencing delays in the surrounding routes through Leicester.
Leicestershire police also tweeted about the incident.
At 6.30am today, the force said: "We are dealing with a police incident on Welford Road/Asquith Boulevard junction. Please avoid this area. Updates will follow. Thank you for your patience."A follow up message gave an exact location of the incident: "Road closure from Welford Road from the main Asquith Boulevard to Tesco city bound."
A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said the crew member had suffered injuries which were "not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing".Eyewitnesses to the crash have spoken of their shock.
One Welford Road resident said “I was leaving the house for work and I just couldn't believe my eyes. I thought I had heard something earlier on like a bang but I definitely did not expect to open my door and walk out to a car crash with an ambulance on its side.”Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service were also in attendance.
A spokesperson said: "We were called to an incident at about 6.27am this morning following reports and sent one appliance from Wigston Fire Station, one from Central and a Technical Rescue Team too.
"Our teams safely extricated all people in the vehicles and then made the vehicles themselves safe."