Attempted murder suspected

Ambulance loses wheels in blue light operation

(Bild: snapshot-photography/Seeliger)

During a night-time operation, an ambulance in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia lost two tires. This was followed by an accident in which all occupants were fortunately unharmed. The homicide squad is now investigating whether someone tampered with the vehicle. 

The emergency vehicle was on the road in Hiddenhausen, northwest of Bielefeld, on Monday night with blue lights and sirens flashing, to take a patient to hospital. At around 1:20 a.m., the dual wheels on the rear left side suddenly came off. The car rolled another 100 meters before coming to a standstill. 

Unknown person may have loosened the wheel bolts
Two paramedics and the patient inside the car survived the accident without injury, but the ambulance was damaged. Even the homicide squad was called in after the dicey incident: They are to investigate whether someone had loosened the wheel bolts on the ambulance.

Since the car had been tampered with, it could not be ruled out. "As there is therefore a suspicion of attempted murder, a Bielefeld homicide squad has taken over the investigation," explained the police. They are also hoping for information from the public to help them solve the possible attack. 

Police informed of ambulance locations
The car was left unattended in front of a nursing home in Hiddenhausen and in front of a hospital in Bünde in the morning and in Bahnhofstraße in Bünde in the afternoon. It was then parked on the grounds of the rescue station on Dünner Straße in Bünde from 2 p.m. until midnight, when it left for a final call-out on Meierhofstraße in Kirchlengern. The accident happened shortly afterwards.