Officials with West Tennessee Healthcare said they are aware a wrongful death lawsuit has been filed after a single-vehicle ambulance accident claimed two lives, Friday.
But they have not seen any paperwork filed by the family of Nyema Jackson, a patient, who died in the accident on Interstate 40 in Nashville.
The ambulance – driven by Deborah Schichtel, advanced EMT was transporting Jackson from Jackson-Madison County General Hospital to a Nashville hospital when the accident occurred.
West Tennessee Healthcare does not comment on pending litigation.
The patient, 36-year-old Nyema Jackson, of Jackson, and Medical Center EMS paramedic, 36-year-old Zachary Pruitt, of Humboldt, were taken by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. They died at the hospital.
According to the preliminary accident report, the patient and the medic, who were riding in the back of the ambulance, were ejected from the rear of the vehicle after it struck a rock wall.
Weather and excessive speed are said to have contributed to the accident. Police say the driver lost control and left the roadway and struck wall on I-40 near the Charlotte Pike exit. The driver told police the ambulance hydroplaned.
