NHS paramedic pleads guilty to colleague's death after ambulance collided with cement truck

An ambulance driver has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a newly qualified paramedic.

21-year-old Alice Clark died in January 2022, just two months after starting as a paramedic. She and two other paramedics were responding to an incident when their ambulance was involved in the collision.

Now, the driver of the ambulance, 45-year-old Edward Riding from Crowborough, Kent, has pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.

The collision took place on the A21 near Sevenoaks, Maidstone Crown Court heard. Riding was respnding to an emergency when he took a wrong turn and hit the kerb, causing the ambulance to collide with a cement truck. They did not have a patient in the ambulance at the time.

Riding was airlifted to Kings College Hospital in London, with the third paramedic, student Megan Kuhn, also suffering head injuries. Alice died at the scene, emergency services confirmed.

In a statement issued at the time, Alice's parents said: "Alice was so excited to qualify as a paramedic and looked forward to every shift. She was a beautiful, kind, fun-loving daughter, sister and granddaughter.

"She loved to travel and anyone who met her loved her. She will be missed more than words can say by family and friends."

Giovanni Mazza, manager for the Paddock Wood Operating Unit where Alice was based, added: "Although she had only been with us for a short time, Alice was already very much part of our ambulance family and will be remembered as a kind and dedicated paramedic."

Having pleaded guilty in court on January 29, Riding will now be sentenced on April 17. He was given an interim driving ban and was remanded on bail.