Citizen Staff Writer
FERNANDA ECHÁVARRI
fernanda@tucsoncitizen.com
Three people died and six were injured in a high speed crash early Sunday that involved an ambulance, police said.
Just before 4 a.m., Andres E. Hernandez, 20, was traveling south on North Freeway Road when he ran a red light at the intersection with West Grant Road and struck a Southwest ambulance that was westbound on Grant, said Officer Charles Rydzak, a Tucson police spokesman.
Hernandez and his 25-year-old passenger, Luis C. Sanchez, died in the crash, Rydzak said.
A 71-year-old man, who was a passenger in the ambulance, also died at the scene, he said. The man was a friend of the patient in the ambulance.
The two other passengers in Hernandez’s car were in critical condition.
When the Dodge Charger driven by Hernandez hit the ambulance, it turned the ambulance on its side and skidded south on Freeway Road hitting a pick-up truck that was traveling east on Grant Road, Rydzak said.
The 18-year-old driver of the truck suffered minor injuries, Rydzak said, and the paramedics and patient in the ambulance also had minor injuries.
The ambulance was traveling with normal traffic during the non-emergency transport, with its lights and siren turned off, Rydzak said.
Hernandez was traveling at high speed when he ran the red light, police said, but it was unclear whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.
The 71-year-old man will not be identified until relatives are notified, Rydzak said.
Two of three people killed in Sunday morning collision identified