# Pa. Rescuer Pleads Guilty to DUI, Double Fatality



## VentMedic (Dec 4, 2008)

This is an update to this the thread:
*Speeding, Alcohol Blamed In Fatal Ambulance Crash *
http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=5730


*Pa. Rescuer Pleads Guilty to DUI, Double Fatality* 
http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=8598&siteSection=1

*Posted:* Thursday, December 4, 2008



> *Story by **wpxi.com*
> 
> 
> MARSHALL TOWNSHIP, Pa. --
> ...


 


> She was driving an ambulance transporting a patient to the hospital when she ran a red light at an intersection. She had just turned on the siren seconds before crashing into their car.
> 
> She faces up to 14 years and 9 months behind bars but will spend 1-2 years in the county jail as part of her plea agreement.


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## FF894 (Dec 4, 2008)

How do you let your partner get behind the wheel?


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## MMiz (Dec 6, 2008)

*W.Pa. ambulance driver guilty in fatal crash*

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania ambulance driver has pleaded guilty for a crash that killed two men while she was transporting a patient after she had been drinking.


Twenty-three-year-old Shanea Leigh Climo, of Evans City, pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and driving while impaired on Thursday.

*Read More!*


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## VentMedic (Feb 26, 2009)

*Update on sentencing*

*Pa. Responder Asks for Forgiveness for Fatal Crash *

*Daniel Malloy*
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
*Posted:* Thursday, February 26, 2009

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=9065&siteSection=1



> The ambulance driver who killed two men in a car crash asked the victims' families for forgiveness yesterday as she was sentenced to jail time.
> 
> "I hope someday you can forgive me," Shanea Leigh Climo told the families of victims Douglas Stitt, 38, of Mercer, and Phillip Bacon, 32, of Sharpsville, Mercer County. "But first I have to forgive myself, and I have a long way to go."





> In addition to the jail time, Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd sentenced Ms. Climo to five years of probation and ordered her not to drive an emergency vehicle during that time. Ms. Climo pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, among other charges, in December.


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## AJ Hidell (Feb 26, 2009)

VentMedic said:


> In addition to the jail time, Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd sentenced Ms. Climo to five years of probation and ordered her not to drive an emergency vehicle during that time.


A whole 120 hours of "education" wasted.  How sad.

She's getting off way too lightly.


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## Sasha (Feb 26, 2009)

I can't believe she gets off with involuntary manslaughter. She was drunk. She chose to get behind the wheel of an ambulance, there is nothing involuntary about that! 

"I'm sorry!" does not bring back the two men she killed. And she has the gall to ask their family to e-mail her in jail? Are you kidding!?


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## AJ Hidell (Feb 26, 2009)

Sasha said:


> She was drunk. She chose to get behind the wheel of an ambulance, there is nothing involuntary about that!


This is a natural result of artificially inflating the egos of volunteers with a lot of "rah rah" backslapping, blowing smoke up their skirts about how valuable and indispensable they are to their community.  This clown ends up so full of herself, honestly believing that she is so important to her community, that she must go play with the siren, even when she's drunk.



> And she has the gall to ask their family to e-mail her in jail? Are you kidding!?


Wait... she gets Internet in jail?  Quick, someone send her an invitation to this forum!


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## Sasha (Feb 26, 2009)

> that she must go play with the siren



She only played with the siren RIGHT before impact. She was driving with lights and no sirens prior to the collision.


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## Epi-do (Feb 26, 2009)

Sasha said:


> She only played with the siren RIGHT before impact. She was driving with lights and no sirens prior to the collision.



Keep in mind, laws vary from state to state, and it may have been completely legal to use only lights or only the siren.  I know that is how it is here in IN.  In fact, at 3 in the morning, it isn't unusual for us to run with only lights, unless there is traffic on the toad with us.  If it was up to me, we wouldn't be driving with either on the way to most of our runs.  Seriously, how much time does it really save?  We all know it is much safer to have all that crap shut off anyway.

That being said, not only did this chic decided to drink and drive, she chose to do so in an ambulance with a patient onboard.  I have to agree that she most certainly got off easy.


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## ffemt8978 (Feb 26, 2009)

Epi-do said:


> I have to agree that she most certainly got off easy.



The side effects of the plea bargain system.


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## AJ Hidell (Feb 26, 2009)

Epi, nobody is arguing that every run should involve lights and sirens.  I am the last person to suggest that.  But in this instance, she was busting intersections and driving fast.  If you're going to do that, then common sense dictates you use the warning devices available to you.  Although, I would agree with any suggestion that emergent driving probably was not justified at all.


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## Kookaburra (Feb 27, 2009)

> and ordered her not to drive an emergency vehicle during that time.



Somehow I don't think that was necessary. If a speeding ticket can keep you from being allowed to drive, I doubt any agency would overlook <i>this</i>.


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