Four hurt in Lenox ambulance crash

LENOX, Mass. (WWLP) - Four people, including an 83 year-old woman, were injured when Lenox Police say a driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his pickup truck into the town’s ambulance.

In a news release sent to 22News, Lenox Police Chief Stephen O’Brien said that the truck collided with the Lenox ambulance on Main Street at about 5:30 Thursday morning.

O’Brien says that the driver of the truck, Matthew Bak, 20, of Cheshire, had fallen asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line, and crashed head-on into the ambulance, which was taking the 83 year-old woman to Berkshire Medical Center at the time.

The woman, who had been suffering from abdominal pain prior to the crash, suffered neck and back pain in the accident, and was brought to the hospital by another ambulance. Two EMT’s inside the ambulance were taken by a different ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center for minor injuries. They have since been released. Bak complained of back and neck pain, and was taken to the hospital by yet another ambulance.

Lenox Police are still investigating the crash, and O’Brien says that criminal and civil charges are pending.

Due to the damage caused in the crash, the town will be without its own ambulance until they can get a replacement. The Lenox Fire Department will continue to provide emergency medical services, but transportation will have to be provided by mutual aid ambulances.