Chhatrapur: A 102-ambulance driver was dismissed after he abandoned a pregnant woman and two of her attendants on the national highway here Monday night after running the vehicle over a road divider.
Fortunately, the pregnant woman and her attendants escaped death by a whisker though the ambulance skidded off the road. The driver fled the scene with the vehicle after the mishap leaving behind the three women on the road.
Locals rescued the pregnant woman Kumari Reddy of Singadapalli under Khallikote block and her attendants and admitted them to the Chhatrapur sub-divisional hospital where she delivered a baby boy.
The chief district medical officer (CDMO) directed the private agency in-charge of the ambulance service to dismiss the driver. The incident has triggered shockwaves in the area with the driver drawing flak from various quarters.
Source said Kumari experienced labour pain Monday night following which her family members rushed her to the Khallikote community health centre. Doctors on examining her condition shifted her to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur in a 102-ambulance. She was accompanied by her sister Adyama Reddy and an ASHA Lakshmi Pradhan.
The ambulance was on its way to Berhampur when the driver lost control on the wheels apparently due to rash driving and ran over a divider. As a result, the ambulance screeched to a halt and its door got opened. Luckily no was hurt while the three women alighted from the vehicle.
The women were left clueless at the night when the locals played Good Samaritan. The residents arranged another vehicle and sent the women to the Chhatrapur sub-divisional hospital where Kumari delivered a baby boy. Doctors said the condition of the mother and the child was stable.
PNN