McKEES ROCKS, Pa. — An ambulance on its way from a fire in McKees Rocks was involved in a head-on collision Wednesday morning in Kennedy Township.
Officials said the ambulance was transporting a police officer from the scene of the fire, which started about 9:30 a.m. at a duplex in the 100 block of Greydon Avenue in McKees Rocks. The officer suffered smoke inhalation after running into the duplex.
The ambulance was involved in the accident about 10 a.m. on Middletown Road in Kennedy Township. Middletown is a county-maintained road and it was just graded to give drivers more traction.
Channel 11 realized we've covered crashes on that stretch of road before, so we talked to nearby residents about the dangers there.
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"There's accidents here all day long, every day," said John Connors, who saw the crash.
"A lot of it is people coming down this hill not realizing how sharp this turn is; you're basically doing a 45-degree turn here coming down a big steep hill," he said.
County officials said three EMS crew members and the driver of the other vehicle in the crash were taken to hospitals, along with the McKees Rocks officer.
"I heard a fire truck flying down and next thing I know, I heard sirens coming up, and then all the other fire trucks responded to the accident," Connors said.
11 Investigates started digging into records and we uncovered numerous accidents on the curve in recent years, including one last April that turned into a hazmat situation and caused the neighborhood to be evacuated when the car that ran off the road hit a gas line.
Officials said no one was home at the time of the fire, which started in a basement on one side of the duplex.
Victoria Paul, who lives in the duplex, said the side where the fire started has been vacant since November. However, she said she had been hearing noises and wasn’t sure what they were.
"I rushed out of work to come home," she said. “I’m gonna lose everything. They’re breaking out the windows. All my possessions are in there."
Hours later, Paul took Channel 11 inside her home for a closer look at the damage. As she toured the building, she suddenly rushed upstairs, concerned about her most prized possession.
"My plate that Brayden made me ... is it OK?" she said. "It's my pride and joy. It's my grandson's. He made me a plate with his handprint on it."
The plate was in pristine condition.