The Investigators uncover another deadly crash involving same ambulance company

Monday, September 14, 2015

Jim Hoffer has the details

SPRING VALLEY (WABC) -- In an earlier investigation, Eyewitness News reported on two separate accidents involving drivers who fell asleep behind the wheel of a SeniorCare Ambulance, causing the death of one patient and serious injury to a pedestrian. Now, we've uncovered a third accident involving the huge Bronx-based company and new video showing the EMT driver dozing off, with deadly results.

One early morning in 2010, a SeniorCare Ambulance driver was transporting Perla Pietrafesa to a Long Island nursing home, with her husband Richard also riding in the back of the ambulance. It was their last time together.

New DashCam video obtained by the Eyewitness News Investigators shows the SeniorCare driver falling asleep behind the wheel before slamming into a tree. The impact killed Richard.

"All they said, 'Your father is dead, your father is dead, the ambulance just crashed,'" the victim's daughter, Linda Mongiardo, said.

The Department of Motor Vehicles investigation concluded that the driver had fallen asleep because she had been awake more than 20 hours after agreeing to work back-to-back shifts.

But as our investigation uncovered, SeniorCare EMT drivers continued to fall asleep with devastating results.

In 2012, a SeniorCare driver appeared to nod off, striking several parked cars and a woman who was nearly killed.

"She had reconstructive surgery," attorney Walter Benson said. "She has difficulty walking, in constant pain."

Then, earlier this year, a SeniorCare Ambulance ran off the road and struck a utility pole, killing Janet Hickey, a patient in the back of the ambulance. Sources tell Eyewitness News that the teenage ambulance driver fell asleep behind the wheel.

SeniorCare insists the driver was fully qualified, met the company's rest rules and had cleared all drug tests after the accident.

After repeated requests to speak to the head of SeniorCare, we decided a few days ago to confront CEO Michael Vatch in an attempt to get some answers. But he refused to comment.

Jim Hoffer: "Your ambulance drivers with SeniorCare, why are they falling asleep behind the wheel?"

Vatch: "I have no comment for you right now."

Hoffer: "Why not talk to us now?"

Vatch: "I'll talk to you at a different time."

Hoffer: "We've tried to reach you several times, we've even come to the office, you've never returned our calls."

Vatch: "I'll comment to you at a different time."

Hoffer: "Why are your drivers so fatigued?"

Vatch: "I'll talk to you at a different time."

In a statement, Vatch said said all their EMT drivers "recieve classroom training" and take an "on-road supervised driver's test," plus "annual driver re-education courses," adding that their "safety regulations" "exceed state requirements." But the families of those killed and injured in SeniorCare accidents say it's not enough.

"When you are taken by ambulance, the last thing that you expect is this ambulance to cause death," said Karen Gioffre, one of the victim's daughter.

Our investigation has found that there are few state requirements to drive an ambulance except that drivers are legally licensed and that the ambulance company "has a training program authorized by the service." In other words, the ambulance company can determine the type of training and how much is needed.

Here is the full statement from SeniorCare:

SeniorCare Emergency Medical Services, a company providing ambulance service transporting patients to New York metropolitan area hospitals and nursing homes, thoroughly reviewed its safety regulations and will continue to utilize procedures that exceed state requirements.

"In our business, one accident is too many and we immediately expressed our heartfelt sorrow to the family of Janet Hickey," said SeniorCare EMS CEO Michael S. Vatch. "Since 2012 we conducted more than 500,000 transports without incident. The accident involving our ambulance was one of less than 50 accidents with injuries over the past three years--almost all of which did not require a hospital stay during the same time period.

"Nonetheless, we continue to do all we can to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again."

With 150 ambulances and a staff of 620, SeniorCare handles more than 150,000 transports per year, travelling about 3.75 million miles. Working in a niche market, the bulk of its work involves moving patients to and from the region's leading hospitals and nursing homes.

The driver in the accident was above legal age and was driving six hours into his day shift after he had been off work since the previous afternoon. SeniorCare employees cannot punch in for work without meeting rest rules-which were in effect at the time of the accident. The driver in this case had finished work at 5pm the previous day. In addition, he cleared all drug and medical tests after the accident. The driver, an employee for two weeks, had passed previous supervised driving tests prior to transporting patients.

All new employees must be EMT certified before they apply, and all go through an eight-step application and testing process that includes a background check, drug testing, full physical, psychological and medical testing, and a driving record review. They also receive classroom training and all new hires take an eight-hour Coaching the Emergency Vehicle Operator (CEVO) course and exam and then an on-road, supervised driver's test.

In terms of best practices, SeniorCare conducts annual driver re-education courses; enrolls all drivers in the NYS License Event Notification Service; reviews all driver and EMT driving and medical care performance annually; undergoes frequent and random ambulance inspections by the state Department of Health; must pass all vehicle inspections; is a certified Ford Service Center; and has a certified stretcher inspector on staff.

Due to the nature of its clients, SeniorCare ambulances typically cover five to 50 miles per transport, rather than one-to-three like most 911 ambulances.