A Morongo Basin Ambulance was damaged, and a man was slightly injured, from a crash in the Flamingo Heights neighborhood of Yucca Valley Saturday. According to the California Highway Patrol, the MBA ambulance was responding to a 9-1-1 call in Flamingo Heights about 3:15 p.m. While en route to the call, the ambulance crew was notified that the call was canceled, and driver and EMT Paul Kendall turned off the ambulance’s lights and sirens. As the ambulance approached the intersection of Old Woman Springs Road and Steffensen Road, Kendall slowed down and turned on the signal to make a left-hand turn onto the road. As the ambulance was turning, Jacob Riggle, of Fort Irwin, driving a white Hyundai with government plates, moved into the southbound lane to pass the ambulance and a Kia that was directly behind the ambulance. The Hyundai collided with the front left side of the ambulance and Riggle lost control of the car, which spun out into a dirt berm on the east shoulder of the highway. Kendall and the crew stopped to provide medical assistance to Riggle’s passenger, who suffered minor injuries. He was taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center. The ambulance crew was not injured in the crash. The CHP reminds motorists to drive carefully around ambulances, even if they are not driving with lights and sirens on.
