Distracted driving one leading cause of crashes involving emergency vehicles

There are hundreds of crashes involving emergency vehicles in Missouri each year.

According to data from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, several things lead to these crashes. One of the main causes of the wrecks is animals in the roadway, but other drivers can also cause crashes.

Distracted driving caused 138 crashes in Missouri in 2017 involving emergency vehicles. It accounted for 164 in 2015.

Failure to yield also causes crashes every year in Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol has a full list of causes available on its database.

Data shows police vehicles are the most likely emergency vehicles to be involved in crashes. Ambulances, like the one in a crash in Columbia on Tuesday, are the second most likely emergency vehicle to be in a crash.

The crash Tuesday involved an ambulance from Callaway County. Two emergency medical services workers inside the ambulance were sent to University Hospital with minor injuries.

ABC 17 News crews found over a three-year period, Callaway County had fewer emergency vehicles involved in wrecks than Boone and Cole counties. The Missouri State Highway Patrol has a full list from each county in the state.

KMIZ 2019