Medical emergency sends car into tree on Port Jervis property
A crash call on West Main Street first sounded like a possible hit-and-run, but Port Jervis police said an elderly driver had a medical emergency and hit a tree.
What first sounded like a car into a house with a driver trying to flee on West Main Street turned out to be a medical emergency behind the wheel. Port Jervis police said an elderly driver struck a tree on a residential property on Saturday, and there was no attempt to flee.
Port Jervis police, fire crews and the PJ Volunteer Ambulance Corps rushed to the scene after the initial report, which had raised the possibility of a more serious crash. Once officers arrived, they said the scene was different from the original dispatch: the driver had suffered a medical emergency and lost control, sending the vehicle into a tree rather than into a home.
The driver was taken by ambulance to Bon Secours Community Hospital for medical evaluation. No serious injuries were reported. Damage was limited to two residential lawns and trees, easing what could have become a far worse outcome for the people nearby and for the emergency crews who responded.
The incident highlighted how quickly a fast-moving call can shift once police and medics assess it in person. In Port Jervis, where residential streets can draw police, fire and ambulance activity without warning, that distinction matters. A crash that initially sounded criminal was treated as a health-related emergency, with responders focusing on stabilizing the scene and getting the driver to care.
The PJ Volunteer Ambulance Corps says it provides basic and advanced life support services around the clock, seven days a week, 365 days a year, a pace that helps explain the speed of the response. Bon Secours Community Hospital, at 160 E Main St. in Port Jervis, says it has served Orange County and surrounding areas for 100 years and operates 86 acute-care beds, 42 long-term-care beds and a 24-hour emergency department.
The episode also came after a similar Port Jervis crash in May, when a medical emergency caused a driver to hit the front of an urgent care facility. Port Jervis police statistics show the department recorded 328 auto accidents and 1,392 traffic stops in 2022, a reminder of how often local officers are called to traffic scenes that can turn on a medical diagnosis rather than a criminal one. The Port Jervis Police Department headquarters is at 20 Hammond Street, and its main 24-hour line is 845-856-5101.
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