Ambulance crashes; forklift sinks into road

By Mikaela Ian Pearman

Moments after an ambulance crashed into a truck on Front Street, a large forklift used to move containers onto tractors partially sunk into the road.

The scene took place at the docks at the end of Front Street across from Seon Place around 3 p.m. yesterday.

Witnesses said the ambulance was "flying" from Paget as the Lindo's truck was driving out of town. Seconds later, the ambulance smashed into the truck.

As the accident unfolded, the driver of the reach stacker decided to investigate the scene. He began to drive up to the entrance of No. 8 Dock only to have the road cave-in beneath him.

Traffic lights at the junction have been disconnected. One witness said the junction is effectively a blind corner when looking east.

The witness said: "The ambulance hit the tail end of the truck. The truck got tipped because of the ambulance. If it was a container truck, the guys in the ambulance would be dead."

The two emergency medical technicians (EMT's) were not injured nor was the truck driver.

Across the street, employees of Stevedoring Services said the reach stacker is supposed to stay on the docks and is too heavy to drive up the ramp entrance of the container docks.

Work was at a standstill for about half an hour as workers tried in vain to move the reach stacker.

Despite the vehicle being stuck in the ground, other tractors were able to drive down to the docks to pick up containers.