£780 legal bill for ambulance driver on emergency call
AN AMBULANCE driver who ran a red light at under 10mph on a 999 call has landed a £780 legal bill.
Kirstine Hutchison, 46, had to fund her own defence on a charge of dangerous driving, which was dropped.
Last night Miss Hutchison said she was ‘shocked’ that it had not been paid by her bosses. She said: ‘I was under the impression that when you wore the uniform and drove the ambulance you did so under the responsibility of the Scottish Ambulance Service. But when a criminal case is involved they do not take you on.’
A court case against Miss Hutchison, from Aberdeen, was dropped 45 minutes before it was due to go to trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last year.
Despite this, the single motherof-two, who earns £11 an hour, had to pick up the cost of preparing her defence.
The ambulance technician – who joined the service nine years ago – had been on her way to an emergency when she drove through a red light in Aberdeen.
The ambulance’s flashing blue lights and sirens were on, but she collided with an oncoming car, slightly injuring a woman driver.
Police charged Miss Hutchison with driving without due care and attention, an allegation she denied. ‘I was on my own in this,’ she said. ‘ I had to find my own solicitor and pay for his services. He actually felt compassion for my case so he knocked a couple of hundred pounds off the final bill, but I still had £780 to pay.
‘I cannot afford it. I am a single mum with two girls who have just come through university and college.’
She added: ‘It was all very stressful. In the run-up to the court case I was losing sleep. I had not been threatened with losing my job but if I lost my driver’s licence I would not be able to continue with it.’
Politicians and union officials have warned that lives could be put at risk as a result of growing concerns among emergency workers who fear they may be prosecuted for simply doing their jobs.
Tommy Campbell, regional Unite official, said crews need to be ‘supported by their employer at times like this’.
He said they should not have to ‘face huge legal bills when all they’re doing is driving as safely and quickly (as possible) on a 999 emergency call’.
The Crown Office confirmed that after careful consideration, the Procurator Fiscal had decided there should be no further proceedings.
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said support mechanisms were available to staff who find themselves in such situations.