Devon: man dies after being hit by ambulance on 999 call

A man has died after he was hit by an ambulance on its way to a 999 call in South Devon.

It happened just after 4am today (17 July) on the A380 near Kingskerswell.

Emergency services were called to the scene where the pedestrian had sustained serious injuries. He was taken to Torbay District Hospital but later died.

A spokesperson from Devon and Cornwall Police said officers are working with the South Western Ambulance Service Trust to investigate the circumstances that led to the crash.

They are asking people not to "speculate about the cause".

A spokesperson for the ambulance trust said: “In the early hours of Saturday, July 17, an ambulance was involved in a collision with a pedestrian on the A380.

“The pedestrian was treated on scene and an Operations Officer, Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and a second ambulance were dispatched and in attendance before the patient was conveyed to hospital.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this incident.”

An anonymous driver who witnessed the crash said: "An ambulance hit a pedestrian.

"I was driving about three cars behind. It happened at around 4am.

"I didn't see where the pedestrian came from, I just saw the ambulance stop and someone jump out and start doing what looked like CPR.

"It literally happened around half a mile from the Penn Inn junction.

"The ambulance was significantly damaged from what I could see.

"I feel sorry for the ambulance crew and everyone involved."

The road remained shut this morning as emergency services remained at the scene.

Both carriageways were closed but the southbound has since reopened.

The northbound side is expected to be closed while investigations continue at the scene.

A force spokesperson said: "The police would like to hear from anyone who witnessed the incident, has any information or dashcam footage which may have captured either the vehicle or the pedestrian prior to the collision that could help the police with their enquiries.

"Please email 101@dc.police.uk or call 101, quoting log number 0191 of Saturday 17 July."