Most drivers know to yield to emergency vehicles like police cars, firetrucks and ambulances. However, one Beverly Hills resident recently learned this lesson the hard way after an accident with a sheriff’s deputy from Marion County.
The 24-year-old woman was given a ticket by a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. The accident happened shortly after noon as she drove through the heavily trafficked intersection of Hwy. 27 and County Road 225A. The deputy was enroute to a call regarding a domestic disturbance.
While the woman did have the green light at the time of the collision, as indicated by a gas station’s surveillance video, Florida law dictates that motorists must yield the road to emergency vehicles.
According to the Highway Patrol, the deputy was headed east on Hwy. 27 in the left lane. The woman was going north on CR 225A in a 1995 Toyota Camry. As she crossed the intersection, the deputy T-boned her vehicle.
She refused treatment; the deputy was taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center as a precaution and released the same day, an official with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office stated.
Both drivers were wearing safety belts at the time of the crash.
It is important to always remember to that emergency vehicles with their lights on and sirens blaring always have the right of way over other traffic, no matter what color the light is.
If you suffered injuries in an accident where another driver failed to yield, it may be necessary to file a claim for damages in order to seek financial reparations.
Source: Ocala StarBanner, “Car strikes patrol car as deputy heads to call,” Austin L. Miller, July 03, 2015