North Carolina

Police: Toddler badly hurt after ambulance hit by drunk driver dies

By JONATHAN DREW, Associated Press

An ambulance transports a patient to a local hospital. A Memphis boy accidentally shot himself Saturday with his father’s handgun and was pronounced dead at an area hospital, police said. His father is charged with reckless homicide.

By JONATHAN DREW, Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Police in North Carolina say the toddler who was badly hurt after an ambulance crash has died.

A news release from the Winston-Salem Police Department Monday night says it was informed at 6:05 p.m. Monday that the boy had died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Authorities offered no additional details.

The boy was being taken to the hospital around 1 a.m. Sunday when a drunken driver hit the medical transport, causing it to roll over on its side, police said.

Gary Oakes of Wise, Virginia, said in a brief phone interview Monday that his 3-year-old grandson had been under medical care before the crash but didn't want to elaborate. Asked how the family was coping, Oakes said, "It's devastating."

The boy's mother, Lyndsay Ann Oakes of Wise, was on the ambulance with him and suffered minor injuries. Reached by phone, she declined to be interviewed.

It's not clear why the boy was being treated before the crash, but Police Lt. Rick Newnum has said the boy was in stable condition before the ambulance was hit. The boy's name hasn't been released.

The driver of the car that hit the ambulance, 27-year-old Jose Martin Duran Romero, originally faced charges including driving while intoxicated and driving without a license. There was no immediate words on additional charges against Romero.

It wasn't clear from jail records if he had an attorney, and no home listing for him could be found. Romero's passenger was charged with failure to render aid.

Newnum said Monday that the men tried to leave the scene on foot, but one was kept from leaving by a witness to the crash. The other man was soon apprehended by police.

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