Man dies after colliding with Perry County ambulance in Breathitt County

A Perry County ambulance returning to its station was struck on KY-15 in Jackson shortly after 1:51 a.m., killing a Lost Creek man and sending two crew members to Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center for precautionary treatment.

Kentucky State Police identified the driver as John Southwood, 41, of Lost Creek. Troopers said Southwood was driving a 2010 Chevrolet Silverado northbound in Breathitt County when it crossed the center line and collided with a southbound 2016 Ford F-450 Perry County Ambulance. Southwood was pronounced dead at the scene by the Breathitt County Coroner’s Office.

The crash drew in KSP Post 13 and quickly became a regional emergency-services incident, not just a fatal wreck on a mountain highway. Because the ambulance was a Perry County unit returning to its station, the collision tied up one of the county’s public-safety vehicles and put its crew into the response stream as well. In eastern Kentucky, where counties often depend on shared and cross-county coverage, a wreck like this ripples beyond the pavement where it happens.

Officials said Southwood was not wearing a seat belt. Seat belts were in use by the other occupants involved in the collision. Two ambulance crew members were taken to Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center after the crash, and their transport underscored how quickly a call meant to protect the public can turn into an emergency for responders themselves.

Trooper Branden Watts is reconstructing the collision as the investigation continues. Toxicology results are pending, and an autopsy has been scheduled. The wreck happened on a late-night stretch of KY-15 in the Jackson community, where dark roads, traffic speed and limited reaction time can turn a small lapse into a fatal crash.

For Perry County, the loss went beyond one fatality in Breathitt County. It involved a county ambulance, two injured crew members and a reminder that every emergency vehicle out on rural roads is part of a larger network residents rely on when minutes matter.