Two Critically Injured After Ambulance and Pickup Truck Collide in Winter Haven

Polk County Ambulance Crash / Polk County Sheriff's Office

By Ciara Perez, Senior Multimedia Correspondent

iSkyNews.com (ISC News) – Published December 9th, 2025

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Two Critically Injured After Ambulance and Pickup Truck Collide in Winter Haven

WINTER HAVEN, FL — A violent two-vehicle crash involving a Polk County Fire Rescue ambulance left two people in critical condition Monday night, prompting a full investigation by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit.

It happened around 8:35 p.m. on December 8, 2025, at the busy intersection of US Hwy 27 and SR 544/Lucerne Park Road in Winter Haven.

According to PCSO, the ambulance — a 2019 Freightliner driven by EMT Eryn Orduna — was traveling westbound out of Haines City with emergency lights and sirens activated while transporting a patient to Winter Haven Hospital. As Orduna approached the red light at the intersection, she slowed and checked both directions before proceeding.

Polk County Ambulance Crash / Polk County Sheriff's Office

At that same moment, deputies say a black Ford F-450 pulling a trailer, driven southbound on US Hwy 27 by Yandy Baez, entered the intersection at highway speed and struck the right front side of the ambulance.

The impact was catastrophic.

The force of the collision pushed the ambulance roughly 60 feet southwest, where it came to rest on the grass shoulder of US Hwy 27. The Ford continued about 15 feet before stopping across the inside and outside southbound lanes.

Inside the ambulance, Paramedic John Parris had been caring for the patient in the rear compartment. He was thrown from his seat during the collision and suffered significant injuries. Both Parris and the patient were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they remain in critical condition.

Truck Crash / Polk County Sheriff's Office

Both drivers were also transported for medical care. Orduna has since been released, while Baez is expected to recover fully.

The severity of the crash prompted deputies to close southbound US Hwy 27 for nearly five hours as investigators documented the scene.

PCSO says the investigation into the crash remains ongoing.

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