The morning started like any other in Albany, Georgia — until chaos erupted at one of the city’s busiest intersections. Just after sunrise on Saturday, an ambulance carrying a medical crew and two patients overturned during a three-vehicle collision, injuring nine people including a newborn on board.
The crash happened around 7 a.m. at Pine Avenue and Monroe Street, a major crossroads that sees heavy early-morning traffic. According to preliminary information from the Georgia State Patrol, a Dougherty County EMS ambulance was traveling along Monroe Street with its emergency lights activated when it collided with a 2017 Ford pickup. The impact flipped the ambulance onto its side, sending it skidding into a 2023 Buick Encore that was crossing the intersection at the same moment.
Witnesses described the moment as violent and disorienting. One woman, who had been parking her car nearby, said the sound hit first — metal slamming, glass shattering, and the jarring thud of the ambulance overturning. “You never expect to see an ambulance wreck like that,” she said. “Those are the people who come when everyone else is in trouble. Suddenly they were the ones who needed help.”
The overturned EMS unit had five people inside: three EMTs and two patients, one of them a newborn infant who was being transported for medical care. In the seconds after the crash, those who were able attempted to help one another while bystanders called 911. Within minutes, units from Albany Police, Dougherty County EMS, and the Fire Department converged on the intersection, shifting from routine patrols to full rescue mode.
Debris was scattered across the roadway — broken equipment, medical supplies, and chunks of the ambulance’s exterior. Firefighters stabilized the overturned vehicle as paramedics began removing their own injured colleagues and patients. Despite the violence of the crash, all nine individuals from the three vehicles were successfully pulled from the wreckage.
They were transported to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital for evaluation. Hospital officials later confirmed that every person involved — the EMTs, the newborn, and the drivers of the other two vehicles — suffered non-life-threatening injuries. All were listed in stable condition by late morning.
For Dougherty County EMS, the relief was immediate and overwhelming. James Gibney, the department’s director, praised both the quick response and the outcome. “We’re grateful beyond words that this didn’t end in tragedy,” he said. “Our crews put themselves on the line every day. Today, they ended up on the wrong side of an emergency, but their professionalism never wavered.”
Inside the ambulance during the crash, the newborn was strapped into a transport device designed for infants — a detail medical staff later said likely prevented catastrophic injuries. Upon arrival at the hospital, the child was examined immediately and remained under observation as a precaution. The family expressed gratitude for the responders who helped stabilize the infant after the crash.
Investigators with the Georgia State Patrol began piecing together the sequence of events shortly after 7:25 a.m. Troopers examined skid marks, vehicle damage, and the final positions of the three vehicles. They also began interviewing witnesses, EMTs, and the drivers of the Ford and Buick. While the ambulance was confirmed to have had its emergency lights flashing at the time of the crash, investigators have not yet released conclusions regarding right-of-way, speed, or contributing factors such as visibility or reaction time.
Nearby businesses with security cameras turned over footage to police, which will be reviewed to determine whether any of the civilian drivers failed to yield or if timing at the intersection played a role.
The crash forced immediate operational changes for Dougherty County EMS. With one of their units out of service and several crew members injured, other ambulances in the region were rerouted to maintain coverage. Dispatchers coordinated with neighboring counties to ensure emergency calls would not be delayed. Traffic around Pine Avenue and Monroe Street was shut down for several hours as crews cleared debris and towed the damaged vehicles.
Inside the hospital, several nurses and physicians commented on the EMTs’ composure. Despite being shaken and injured themselves, they reportedly expressed concern for their patients first. “They were hurting, but they stayed steady,” one nurse said. “It’s instinct for them. Even when they’re the ones in need, they think like caregivers.”
Albany Police used the incident to remind the public of a critical safety rule: when lights and sirens are approaching, hesitation can be dangerous. “Move to the right and stop,” a department spokesperson said. “Seconds matter. A pause or a wrong guess at an intersection can change lives in an instant.”
No names have been released, and both the pickup and Buick drivers are cooperating fully with investigators. All will undergo follow-up evaluations, and EMS leadership confirmed that their personnel will receive both medical monitoring and counseling. The psychological impact of being in a crash while transporting patients is not taken lightly in the emergency services community.
Among local residents, the incident sparked an outpouring of support. Comments flooded Dougherty County EMS social media pages, thanking the responders for their service and wishing them quick recoveries. Some community members urged city officials to prioritize improvements at high-risk intersections, including better preemption signals for emergency vehicles and clearer signage to alert drivers.
The damaged ambulance will remain out of service until the investigation is complete and repairs are finished. Replacing or rebuilding specialized EMS vehicles can take months, but the county indicated it will fast-track the process to restore full operational capacity.
Georgia State Patrol officials said a full report will be released once all witness statements, video evidence, and forensic examinations are complete. “The goal,” one trooper said, “is not simply to determine fault. It’s to understand exactly how this happened so we can prevent a future incident.”
For a morning that could have become a devastating chapter in Dougherty County’s history, the outcome — nine injured but all alive — feels like a fortunate break in a situation that offered few guarantees. For the EMS crews who responded, for the newborn who survived the impact, and for the community that watched an ambulance become the center of a rescue instead of the source, the morning served as a sobering reminder: even the most experienced lifesavers are not immune to danger.
Yet in the end, everyone walked away. And in a crash like this, that alone is a small miracle.
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