We have confirmed reports that the YWAM Ambulance in Haiti was involved in an roll over accident while transporting cholera patients late last week.
According to updates on Twitter the ambulance crashed and was damaged, but thankfully no one was hurt. Those in the back of the ambulance reported that although the ambulance flipped, the passengers reported that it “felt like they rolled on pillows”.
Although initial reports said that the ambulance flipped and rolled over, those reports were incorrect. The people in Haiti who I spoke to said that there was no indication of a roll over, and the photos below seem to confirm that.
We reported previously about the YWAM Mercy Truck Ambulance being donated to YWAM Haiti after the devastating earthquake that hit the nation in January. Since the earthquake it has been working almost non stop delivering aid and running mobile clinics for the people in Haiti. Only a few days ago we got reports that the ambulance was running strong and saving lives.
When the ambulance was delivered back in February it was reportedly the only ambulance in the nation of Haiti. We can only hope and pray now that they are able to get the ambulance repaired and running again, especially in the wake of the current Cholera outbreak and the approaching Hurricane Thomas. The Haitian mechanics who have looked at the ambulance guess that the repairs will take three weeks, if it is repairable.
We received this statement from YWAM in Haiti after I contacted them to confirm the accident:
The ambulance came a few months after the earthquake and served in Port-au-Prince until emergencies died down. It was then brought to St. Marc to be a part of the New Foundations Clinic. Before it crashed, it brought to the hospital an estimated 40 cholera-hit people that were in critical condition. It also helped volunteers reach an unknown amount of cholera-hit people that were not sick enough to need medical evac.