A 34-year-old Elizabethtown-Kitley man is dead and a young child is fighting for their life following a three-vehicle crash involving an ambulance on Highway 15 near Lombardy.
Leeds County OPP say the collision happened Friday, May 29, at about 5 p.m. on Highway 15 between County Road 1 and County Road 5, near Otter Lake Park.
Police say the crash involved two cars and an ambulance. The ambulance was returning to base at the time and had no patients on board.
The driver of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead at the scene. A young child in that vehicle was airlifted by Ornge air ambulance to a trauma centre with life-threatening injuries.
The two paramedics in the ambulance were taken to The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus with serious injuries. Officials later confirmed both paramedics were treated and released from hospital.
The driver and only person in the third vehicle suffered minor injuries and was also taken to hospital.
Highway 15 was closed for several hours from County Road 1 to County Road 5 while emergency crews responded and police investigated. The road has since reopened.
Leeds Thousand Islands Fire Service, Leeds Grenville Paramedic Service, OPP Technical Collision Investigators and an OPP reconstructionist all assisted at the scene.
During the emergency response, Lanark County Scanner reported that an Ornge air ambulance helicopter landed at the Lombardy Fairgrounds as crews worked at the crash site.
In a statement, officials said they are gathering confirmed information and working closely with partner agencies as the investigation continues. They also thanked emergency responders who attended the scene for their professionalism and care.
“Our thoughts are with everyone involved and all those affected by this incident,” the statement said.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information or dashcam footage from the area around the time of the crash is asked to contact Leeds County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
