![The scene of the accident in Cheongna-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon. [Incheon Fire Department]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/01/news-p.v1.20260601.c8ccc7f804d54d4f9cfa5b871e24ef3d_P1.jpg)
A woman in her 90s being transported in a private ambulance died Sunday after the vehicle ran a red light at an intersection and collided with an SUV, flipping onto its side.
According to the Incheon Seo-gu Police Station, the crash occurred around 11:55 a.m. Sunday at a four-way intersection in Cheongna-dong, Seo-gu, Incheon, when a private ambulance traveling straight through the intersection struck an SUV coming from a different direction.
The impact caused the ambulance to overturn. The patient died at the scene. A female guardian in her 70s and a male paramedic in his 30s also sustained minor injuries, including to their backs.
Three people in the SUV, including the driver, were also lightly injured and taken to a hospital.
The ambulance driver, a man in his 20s identified only as B, was transporting the patient and her guardian from a convalescent hospital in Incheon to a care facility in Seo-gu when he drove through the intersection against a red light with his siren on, police said.
Police are reviewing whether the Road Traffic Act's special provisions granting right-of-way to emergency vehicles apply to B's case, given that private ambulances qualify as emergency vehicles under the law.
"We are investigating the exact circumstances of the accident based on dashcam footage from the vehicles involved and witness statements," a police official said. "We will decide how to handle B's detention depending on the outcome of the investigation."
jshan@heraldcorp.com
