{"id":5366,"date":"2025-04-09T08:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T08:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/5366\/"},"modified":"2025-04-09T08:18:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T08:18:11","slug":"coked-up-paramedic-sacked-after-crashing-ambulance-while-on-999-call-but-spared-jail-over-exemplary-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/5366\/","title":{"rendered":"Coked-up paramedic sacked after crashing ambulance while on 999 call &#8211; but spared jail over &#8216;exemplary&#8217; record"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A COKED-UP paramedic has been fired after crashing an ambulance on a 999 call while almost five times the legal limit.<\/p>\n<p>Colin Steward, pictured above, was only spared jail due to his \u201cexemplary\u201d record and his life-saving during his career.<\/p>\n<p>Steward, 54, was tested for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/topic\/drugs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">drugs<\/a> after crashing the ambulance \u2014 its blue lights flashing \u2014 on the A34 in Burnage, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/topic\/manchester\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Manchester<\/a>, on August 28 last year. Three people were treated in hospital.<\/p>\n<p>In each litre of blood, he had 240mcg of benzoylecgonine, a compound produced when cocaine breaks down.<\/p>\n<p>The legal limit is 50mcg. Steward admitted drug <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/topic\/driving\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">driving<\/a> and appeared before Manchester JPs for sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Chair of the bench, Brendon Hart, said in \u201cnormal circumstances\u201d he would be jailed.<\/p>\n<p>Sparing him, he said: \u201cYou have served the community and probably saved a number of lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhatever the reason that caused your spiral downwards it is no excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Steward, of Altrincham, Gtr Manchester, was given a 18-month community order, including 100 hours\u2019 unpaid work, plus a 28-month drive ban.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/who\/north-west\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">North West<\/a> Ambulance Service said Steward\u2019s conduct was \u201ccompletely unacceptable\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesman added: \u201cHe no longer works for the organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is understood Steward was sacked and is now unemployed.<\/p>\n<p>Ambulance crashes into cars queuing for petrol as paramedic tries to weave through traffic while rushing to emergency <a href=\"#\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Colin Steward leaving court after sentencing for drug driving.\" height=\"960\" width=\"654\" data-credit=\"STEVE ALLEN\" data-img=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2024-manchester-drove-motor-vehicle-985643747.jpg\" data-caption=\"Colin Steward crashed an ambulance on a 999 call while almost five times the legal limit\"   loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2024-manchester-drove-motor-vehicle-985643747.jpg\" role=\"img\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>1<\/p>\n<p>Colin Steward crashed an ambulance on a 999 call while almost five times the legal limitCredit: STEVE ALLEN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A COKED-UP paramedic has been fired after crashing an ambulance on a 999 call while almost five times&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[30,535,2465,12,211,820,118,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-5366","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-courts","10":"tag-drugs","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-nhs","14":"tag-section-newsuk-news","15":"tag-the-sun-newspaper","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114307026468926001","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}