Chicago ambulance crash c 1960’s?

Tom Nangle

PCS Member
On page ST 16 of New York Times Feb 11, 2018 there are two photos of an ambulance crash from Chicago from the mid to late 1960’s I’m guessing. I don’t have a clue of what these two photos have to do with Calvin Klein’s ad...good for me. But I recognize the phone number (RO 3-6777) on the door of the ambulance as that of Mercy Ambulance Service, which operated on the far northwest side of Chicago in the 1950’s and 60’s. They had beautiful cars, all light blue.
Those were the years when CFD would respond to an “inhalator” in a home but wouldn’t make a removal of the PT from the home...either CPD or private ambulance did that. The owner of Mercy, located on Northwest Highway in the Edison Park neighborhood of Chicago, would get the call and sometimes he’d swing thru the neighborhood to pick up the on-call attendant, who’d be in uniform and waiting at the curb, and continue to meet CFD at the site. There were some beautiful funeral home ambulances in the city then. All this just FYI.
 
I went to NYT and ST pages stop at 15 no 16 available. If someone with more computer savy knows how find and post please do it. Funny too I just added 59 Cadillac Precision Minitures 59 Superior Chicago FD ambulance to my toy collection.
 
If you can get the page with the picture center your arrow on the picture right click look for copy image hit it. Have PCS site in another window left click look for paste or paste image left click it and bang it will be there
 
I bought this on eBay a few years ago:
 

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That’s it

Steve, you nailed it as usual: that’s the photo they used twice in the Calvin Klein ad in NYT. Thanks for bailing me out here.
 
That scene is scary looking, at least to me. I realize there are much worse tragedies that first responders see, but it kind of takes my breath away thinking about it.
 
The impact must have been hard. The striking vehicle a 54 Ford. If you look it blew the windshield out of the Cadillac the cowl and wrap around post are at in as is the center piller. The center pillers went in hard as they were reinforced by the cabinets The hole in the rear side glass looks like from a head. They must have had the stuff on top of the cabinet secured as it is in place. The expired patient must not have been secured on the stretcher. There was a similar one in Montgomery County in the 70s I bought the salvage worst hit ambulance I ever saw. The idiot driver lights blazing siren going passed on a curve and hit a tractor trailer head on. Everyone in the ambulance was killed. The worst part was it was a TRANSPORTATION call no lights or siren allowed then. I have never forgotten it what a waste of life still gives me a chill to think about it.
 
Actually, the info on the back of the photo states that the collision was between 2 ambulances which had responded to the same accident. Copies of this photo show up frequently, mostly thanks to Andy Warhol. I would love to see a photo of the other ambulance.
 
Actually, the info on the back of the photo states that the collision was between 2 ambulances which had responded to the same accident. Copies of this photo show up frequently, mostly thanks to Andy Warhol. I would love to see a photo of the other ambulance.

That was the same impression that I got from the photo and write-up that Steve had posted, although it was a little vague. The Ford may have been collateral damage, since it's unlikely that it t-boned the Caddy and ended up in that position parallel to the ambulance.
 
Same company as pictured below.

One is from Steve's collection from Facebook somewhere.

The other I pulled up from eBay, by my recollection - and I don't believe has been previously posted anywhere. Please correct me if not the case.

Somewhere - I think I have another scene from the staged photo shoot.
 

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The woman that was partially ejected from the ambulance, was already deceased from the original accident.

Carrol Czechwicz, 19, who was fatally injured in the accident in which two of her girl friends were seriously injured, was partly thrown from the ambulance carrying her to hospital.
 
Same company as pictured below.

One is from Steve's collection from Facebook somewhere.

The other I pulled up from eBay, by my recollection - and I don't believe has been previously posted anywhere. Please correct me if not the case.

Somewhere - I think I have another scene from the staged photo shoot.

I own the top photo.
 
Ambulance crash info

Per the Chicago Tribune, the Mercy car collided with CFD Ambulance #7 while enroute to Resurrection Hospital with victims from the same auto accident, and FF Henry Keating, driving the CFD car, also died a day later from his injuries. Trib says they were taking different routes to the same hospital.
 
Chicago ambulance crash newspaper info

Here’s my best effort folks:
“Two Ambulances Collide” Chicago Daily Tribune, Jan 9, 1960
“Two Ambulances Collide Toll 1 killed 6 hurt” Chicago Daily Tribune , Jan 10, 1960
“Crash of Two Ambulances Takes 2nd Life” Chicago Daily Tribune, Jan 13, 1960

And if anyone has any pics of any Mercy Ambulance (Chicago) cars I’d sure like to see them. Thanks all.
 
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