Sleepy driver with no license slams into an ambulance head-on in Kennewick

A 38-year-old driver apparently fell asleep Monday morning and slammed into an ambulance near a busy Kennewick intersection.

The woman was driving a Hyundai sedan south on Steptoe Street near Tucannon Avenue when she nodded off about 5:45 a.m., Officer Sebastian Castilleja told the Tri-City Herald.

She crossed the center line and rammed into the front of a American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance that was headed north toward Gage Boulevard.

The woman, whose driver’s license was previously suspended, told police she was headed home when she fell asleep. There was no sign of drugs or alcohol involved, Castilleja said.

American Medical Response is a private ambulance service that provides transportation between hospitals in the Tri-Cities area.

Information about where the ambulance was going to or coming from was not immediately available, but no patient was on board. The paramedic and emergency medical technician on board were taken to the hospital to be checked.

The other driver was taken to a local hospital for an injury to her foot. She was cited for negligent driving and driving without a license, Castilleja said. Her name was not released.

This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 11:48 AM.