TWO men were seriously injured at about 11:35 yesterday morning when an ambulance that was participating in a crash simulation at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston collided with a Nissan Sunny motor car along the Palisadoes Road.

The men, Delroy Cardosa of Lincoln Road and Osmond Wright of Lincoln Crescent, both in Kingston, were admitted to hospital and were last night said to be in a stable condition. The three occupants of the ambulance were not hurt.

The crash caused a traffic pile-up for about a mile, although rescue workers and a medical team responded immediately, partly because they were already in the vicinity to participate in the crash simulation, organised by the Airports Authority of Jamaica, and aimed at testing the response time in a major disaster at the airport.

A man who claimed that he witnessed the accident, reported that he saw when the ambulance, travelling on the soft shoulder of the road with sirens blaring, smashed into the white motor car, licensed 7759 DC. He said the car was attempting to turn into the entrance of the Caribbean Maritime Institute.

The impact of the accident caused both vehicles to be dragged approximately 50 feet away, where they were pinned tightly together before rescue workers managed to dislodge them.

“I was behind them coming up the road [in the vicinity of the roundabout] because they were in the line, too. The car was before the ambulance and was about to turn when the ambulance lick it from the outside,” said the witness, who refused to give his name.

The driver of the Nissan, identified only as “DeCardosa”, was trapped in his car, but firefighters, the police and paramedics worked desperately to free him from the wreckage.

During the period that firefighters were cutting the vehicles apart, DeCardosa appeared to be conscious, but after he was placed on the stretcher to be rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital, he apparently lapsed into unconsciousness.

His left leg was severely distorted and seemed lifeless as a doctor strapped it to a splint. He sustained multiple injuries as a result of the accident, although the medical crew at the scene could not determine his condition or that of his companion.

The ambulance, registered 1965 EB, was driven by Corey Singleton. It was dispatched from AmbuCare, an independent establishment in St Catherine.