A violent crash between an ambulance and an SUV left three people dead in Prince George's County.
Paramedics had just left their station in response to a 911 call at about midnight in District Heights. The ambulance had lights and sirens activated and was traveling west on Marlboro Pike.
Investigators said that's when an SUV crossed the center line and was speeding down the wrong side of the road.
The driver of the ambulance swerved to avoid a head-on collision and the SUV slammed into the patient compartment of the ambulance.
The SUV then hit a wall and a utility pole and flipped onto its roof. All three men inside were killed. The paramedics were not seriously injured and there was no patient in the back compartment.
The side of the ambulance was ripped wide open in the crash, a sign of just how violent the collision was.
"The right-hand side of that ambulance is totally obliterated," said Prince George's Fire spokesman Mark Brady said.
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There was no immediate word on whether alcohol played a role in the crash.
The two passengers in the SUV were identified as Andre Watley, 22, of the 3000 block of Stanton Road; and Tony Burney, 35, of the unit block of 35th Street NE. The 30-year-old driver's identity has not been made available.
