Report Says Driver Sleeping in 2010 Paramedic Deaths

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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A BC Coroner’s report found that the driver who plunged an ambulance 33 metres into Kennedy Lake in 2010 was most likely sleeping behind the wheels. As a result of the accident, two paramedics passed away. Coroner’s reports into the accident have pointed out that the driver, Jo-Ann Fuller, died after drowning in Kennedy Lake, while paramedic Ivan Polivka died from chest and head injuries.

The accident took place at around 5:20 a.m. on Oct. 19, 2010 on a winding part of Highway 4 near Kennedy Lake. Reports confirms that the ambulance drove over a concrete barrier then down an embankment into 10 metres of water. According to a RCMP collision specialist, no tire marks were present at the road to indicate any steering correction or braking. The report said “speed, falling rocks and weather were not contributing factors to this incident.”

59-year-old Fuller and 65-year-old Polivka were asked to drive a patient from Tofino to Port Alberni. The pair had been off work for just five hours Fuller was not happy with the arrangement of the dispatch but it was determined that they would be the crew to transfer the patient. Fuller was driving and Polivka was asleep in the back of the ambulance on a gurney at the time of the accident, i.e. a measure that is against BC Ambulance policy. The ambulance was inspected and found to be in good condition with no defects.