Elmont man killed in ambulance crash

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The driver of a Hunter EMS ambulance, and the patient it was transporting are dead, and a second EMT is in critical condition, after the ambulance struck the exit 18 overpass of the Southern State Parkway just after 12:00 pm on Wednesday. The Lakeview Fire Department and EMS responded to the scene.

According to multiple reports, the patient, James Larson, 36, of Elmont, was being transported from Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan to a rehabilitation center in Uniondale when the crash happened. Media outlets reported that Larson had been a recipient of both a kidney and heart transplant.

The accident occurred while the ambulance was traveling eastbound on the parkway and veered off the road, hitting the stone wall of the overpass. Eastbound lanes of the parkway were closed to all traffic immediately following the accident.

New York State Police said the 2nd EMT is being treated at Winthrop Hospital for a broken leg and a concussion. No identities were released.

Calls to Hunter EMS have not yet been returned.

News and private photos from the scene show the ambulance atop the incline of the eastbound shoulder of the parkway.