Driver repeatedly blocks ambulance on call in worst case ‘ever seen’ by emergency service
A reckless driver has been sentenced to prison after being caught on video blocking an ambulance on the way to an emergency.
Paramedics in Reading had been responding to a call about a man who had collapsed when they were repeatedly blocked off by a red Suzuki Vitara.
You can watch the infuriating dash-cam footage here:
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Albert Butler, who was driving the red car, repeatedly overtakes the ambulance and slows down when he gets in front of it.
When the ambulance, driving on the A4 from Reading to Maidenhead, tries to overtake the car, he then moves into the middle of the road to block them.
When the two vehicles read a smaller road, the car slows down almost to a stop, leaving paramedics with no way through.
Investigating officer Sergeant Matt Cadmore of the Roads Policing Unit based at Taplow, said in a statement: “The manner of Butler’s driving was completely unacceptable.
“In deliberately attempting to hinder the progress of this ambulance, he was putting other road [users] at great risk, and at the same time, delaying an emergency vehicle en route to a medical emergency.
“This sort of behaviour on our roads will not be tolerated and we will take robust action against anybody who seeks to drive in this manner."
Dee Cowan, the paramedic who was driving the ambulance at the time, added that she had never seen anything like this in her entire career.
"It just became quite clear that he was intent on stopping us from progressing and he was just trying to stay in front of us and just keep slowing us down", she told ITV.
"It threw me so much and we just had to let our control know that this was happening. We were still trying to get ahead of him.
"It felt like he was playing with us. He'd upset us so much that we had to just steady ourselves before we could keep on going on to the patient.
"At one point he just stops us in Wargrave and I thought he was going to get out of the car and attack us. But luckily he decided that he'd had enough."
The driver pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and obstructing/hindering an emergency worker in Maidenhead and was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
He has also been ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, 200 hours of unpaid work over an 18-month period, was banned from driving for three years and given costs of £600.
Ali Condon