999 man could face sack after 100mph mercy dash
‘Equipment was urgently needed’
AN ambulance driver faces losing his job after breaking the speed limit to deliver life-saving medical equipment.
Johnny Kerr was caught by a speed camera driving at just over 100mph in a 70mph zone.
He was taking vital apparatus to a hospital after an operation had to be abandoned, leaving a patient in intensive care.
Mr Kerr, an experienced ambulance technician who was volunteering for a charity which delivers medical supplies, was confident there would be no legal action against him.
But the trainee paramedic, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, claims the charity – ScotsERVS – failed to fill in forms which would have exempted him from prosecution.
Mr Kerr, 29, now faces trial at the Justice of the Peace Court in Aberdeen next week.
ScotsERVS said it had dismissed Mr Kerr for ‘gross misconduct’ as its rules forbid volunteers from breaking the speed limit. But Mr Kerr insists he was never informed that he was not permitted to exceed the speed limit.
He told the Mail he feared his dream of becoming a paramedic with the Scottish Ambulance Service was over because he faces losing his driving licence.
He added: ‘I take great pride in my driving. I have a clean licence and I have been driving A&E ambulances for five or six years.
‘I have been dealing with the stress of this situation while studying for exams as I am training to be a paramedic.’
Mr Kerr became a volunteer with ScotsERVS in February 2016. On April 8 last year he was tasked with delivering equipment to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after an urgent request from a surgeon.
The item, which was required to pump blood and oxygen around a critically ill patient’s body, was not in stock so had to be transported from London to Aberdeen.
Mr Kerr picked it up near Glasgow. He said: ‘It’s acceptable to break the speed limit if you’re driving to the conditions and you have blue lights on, which I did.
‘We had been told the patient was in intensive care and the equipment was urgently needed to save their life.’
The item was delivered and it is understood the surgery was successful.
Mr Kerr’s vehicle triggered a camera on the A90 and a speed of 102mph was recorded.
Emergency services can apply to the Safety Camera Partnership for an exemption for speeding drivers – and these are routinely granted.
Mr Kerr said: ‘I didn’t hear from ScotsERVS again. The next thing I know is I get a letter saying I need to attend court, so I went to Aberdeen and pleaded not guilty.’
He claims ScotsERVS did not apply for exemption – and he feels he has been ‘hung out to dry’.
Lawyer Ronnie Simpson, of Michael Lyon Solicitors, representing Mr Kerr, called the decision to prosecute ‘disappointing’.
A Crown Office spokesman said it could not comment ahead of the trial, scheduled for March 14.