A man who repeatedly blocked paramedics on their way to an emergency has been convicted. On Wednesday 2 February, paramedics in a marked South Central Ambulance Service ambulance were driving along the A4 Bath, Reading to Maidenhead road, responding to a medical emergency for a man who had collapsed. The ambulance overtook a red Suzuki Vitara, driven by 38-year-old Albert Butler. Butler then passed the ambulance, pulling right in front of it and braking, slowing the ambulance. The ambulance continued along the A4 and Butler continued to pass other members of the public who had pulled over to allow the ambulance to pass. Butler then slowed again, blocking the ambulance’s path. Butler continued to block the ambulance’s path along Wargrave Road, where he continued to brake hard. Credit: South Central Ambulance Service Butler continued to block the ambulance’s path along Wargrave Road, where he continued to brake hard, weave across the road and enter the wrong side of the road. Dee Cowan, the paramedic who was driving the ambulance with a student nurse, says she has never experienced an incident like this in her entire career. He said: “It just became clear that he was out to stop us going forward and was just trying to stay in front of us and just slow us down. “It hit me so hard and we just had to let our control know this was happening. We were still trying to catch up with him. “It looked like he was playing with us. It had upset us so much that we had to stand still before continuing to attend to the patient. He added: “At one point he stopped us in Wargrave and I thought he was going to get out of the car and attack us. But luckily he decided he’d had enough.” Mark Ainsworth, Director of Operations at SCAS, said: “This was the worst driving behavior suffered by one of our hard-working ambulance crews, responding to blue lights in a potentially very serious emergency, that I have ever seen.” Albert Butler, of Reading, was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and obstructing/obstructing an emergency worker in Maidenhead. He was also ordered to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, 200 hours of unpaid work over an 18-month period, banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay £600 costs. Investigating officer Sergeant Matt Cadmore of the Taplow-based Roads Policing Unit said: “Butler’s driving was completely unacceptable. “By deliberately attempting to impede the progress of this ambulance, he was putting another road at great risk and at the same time delaying an emergency vehicle on its way for emergency medical assistance. “This kind of behavior on our roads will not be tolerated and we will take strong action against anyone who drives in this way.”
