Interstate reopens following grisly crash leaving 7 hurt on I-264
Two EMTs and juvenile are among the injured
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Seven people were hurt in a crash on the Watterson Expressway (I-264) in west Louisville involving an ambulance and five other vehicles.
MetroSafe confirmed the call came in at 3:04 p.m. Monday reporting the wreck on the Watterson eastbound at Bells Lane.
The ambulance was in the process of transporting a patient to Audubon Hospital when the driver pulled off to the side of I-264, Mitchell Burmeister, of MetroSafe, said. That’s when the ambulance was hit from behind by a dump truck.
Jody Meiman, Louisville Metro EMS Director said the ambulance pulled over when a patient in the back became combative. That’s when the driver came back to help assist with the combative patient and the ambulance was hit by a dump truck. It’s unknown if the ambulance’s lights were on when it pulled over.
Pictures from Air 3 show two dump trucks involved, a semi, two cars and a Louisville Metro EMS ambulance.
“There was a lot of debris, our ambulance was completely destroyed,” Meiman said. “There was a lot of diesel fuel, there was gasoline, it was a very messy scene for them to have to go through for their investigation.”
Emergency crews blocked off a route to rush multiple patients to Louisville hospitals.
Officials said seven total people, including two EMTs and a juvenile, were injured.
Six patients are at University Hospital, and the juvenile is at Norton Children’s Hospital.
Meiman identified the two EMT’s involved as Christopher Barrett and Kristopher Haeberlin.
Meiman said Barrett’s condition was listed as serious, and Haberlin is in stable condition, with several scrapes and bruises. Both are awake and talking, according to authorities.
Burmeister said the five other people are expected okay.
“Right now we are very grateful," Meiman said. "We have a lot of people praying for us and we are continuing with the prayers and hoping for full recoveries.”
As of 10:50 p.m., the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet confirmed all lanes of I-264 East are open. The westbound lanes opened several hours before that.
Jefferson County Public School officials said some buses might have been delayed in dropping students off who live in the area.
No charges have been filed.
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