Alleged drunk Detroit paramedic crashes ambulance with patient inside

Detroit fire trucks parked outside of the Coleman Young Building as a power outage impacted parts of downtown Detroit. (Bob Bellacicco / CTV Windsor)

The Detroit Fire Department says a paramedic has been placed on unpaid leave after allegedly crashing an ambulance while impaired.

At 1:10 a.m. on Friday, a paramedic with six years with the department was driving an ambulance at Carpenter and Klinger in the city of Hamtramck Mich., when he allegedly side swiped three parked vehicles. The driver stopped and waited for Hamtramck police to arrive.

At the time of the incident, a Priority 2 patient was in the back of the ambulance and was not injured.

As part of DFD protocols, the paramedic was taken to a clinic to be tested. The fire department says it was determined he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. He was immediately placed on unpaid leave pending further review.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for the use of alcohol while on duty and will take the appropriate action," said Commissioner Chuck Simms. "We have an outstanding team of EMTs and paramedics at DFD and it's unfortunately that this incident detracts from the lifesaving work they do every day. We have programs and supportive services in place for our employees who may be struggling with issues such as alcohol dependency and we will redouble our efforts to make sure any employee who may need them are aware of how to access them."

The employee has had no prior accidents or alcohol-related incidents.