iStockA paramedic collided with a taxi while medics treated a dying patient in her ambulance.
Amanda Keenan, 35, was behind the wheel of the vehicle in Glasgow’s Calton on September 24, 2023.
Keenan and a crew were transporting a 71-year-old woman whose heart had earlier stopped from her home to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Keenan, of Paisley, failed to give way or slow down an appropriate amount at a red light.
She continued to drive while the taxi – an orange Kia Niro – moved off at a green light across from her.
This resulted in the two vehicles colliding in the middle of the junction.
Keenan pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to driving without due care or attention.
Sheriff Tony Kelly deferred conviction until next week for further information to become available regarding sentencing options.
The court earlier heard that the medics attended the woman’s home as she had difficulty breathing.
A decision was made to transfer her to hospital as the woman had gone into cardiac arrest with Keenan being the driver.
Prosecutor Kirsty McKenzie said: “CPR was being carried out in the back of the ambulance.”
The blue lights and sirens were activated on the vehicle, which drove up to London Road at its junction with Arcadia Street.
Ms McKenzie said: “On approach to a red traffic signal, Keenan failed to slow down.
“She proceeded the red light without checking for emerging traffic from the driver’s side.
“A taxi driver emerged from Arcadia Street, and when his lights went green, he emerged and collided with the driver’s side of the ambulance.”
The hearing was told that the ambulance was unable to be moved after the collision.
The fiscal depute stated that there was evidence of brakes being applied by Keenan at the time, but she did not “give way”.
Neither Keenan or the taxi driver needed hospital treatment. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Jacqueline White, defending, told the court: “The situation is that she was attempting to save a life.
“The woman’s heart had stopped beating at the house and work that was being done to see if there was a possibility of getting her back.”
It was revealed that Keenan paid a speeding fine months before the incident which was unrelated to her employment.
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