Hexham schoolgirl hit by ambulance

Jun 26 2009 by Robert Weatherall, The Journal

A SCHOOLGIRL is recovering at home after being knocked down by an ambulance.

The 11-year-old, who hasn’t been named, was hit at an accident blackspot in Northumberland.

The youngster was walking on Allendale Road in Hexham when she was hit by the ambulance.

The girl, who is a pupil at the St Joseph’s Middle School, was hit on the pedestrian crossing near the junction with Whetstone Bridge Road. The ambulance was displaying a flashing blue light at the time and was on its way to the town’s General Hospital.

The girl’s injuries were not life threatening and she was taken to hospital as a precaution with cuts and bruises.

The ambulance crew assessed her at the accident scene and called for a second ambulance to assist her.

Police are investigating the accident and bosses at the North East Ambulance Service have launched an internal investigation.

The accident is the fourth in as many months on the busy stretch of road.

St Joseph’s Middle School headteacher Alan Hodgson said: “We are so relieved that the girl involved was not seriously hurt.

“The school held a road safety assembly immediately after the incident where students were reminded about the dangers on the roads.”

In March Hexham farmer David Herron died in an accident on Allendale Road. That came a few weeks after a lorry driver lost control and hit a tree. And earlier this month a teenage driver and an elderly woman were in collision.

A spokesman for the North East Ambulance Service said the thoughts of staff were with the girl and her family.

He said: “We received a call at 8.52am on Monday to say that a girl had stepped out into the path of an ambulance which was transporting a patient with a life-threatening condition to hospital.

“The crew stopped and assessed her injuries before a second ambulance was dispatched and took the girl to Hexham General Hospital.”