Employee suspended, investigation launched after girl uses ambulance to make grand entrance at school dance

Ashvonn Russell arriving to her prom in an ambulance.
Image by: Twitter

To win a contest for best entrance at her school, Ashvonn Russell enlisted the assistance of emergency services to allow her to use an ambulance so that she could appear to be in a coma.

Upon arrival at her high school at Marsh Harbour in Bahamas, Russell was wheeled out on a stretcher while her partner planted a kiss which would jokingly bring her back to life.

Russell won the award but is in hot water after images of her grand entrance made headlines around the world. She told Buzzfeed that she wanted to exercise her creativity by thinking out of the box.

"Sleeping Beauty with a modern twist captured my interest for my prom entrance."

When she heard of the several complaints lodged by residents of her hometown - questioning why she was given the use of an emergency vehicle, Russell said she did not mean to offend anyone.

"My hope for this theme was genuinely and solely to win best entrance by my unique style of entry and not for some of the negative attention and exposure it has received. For all the people of my great nation and around the world that I have offended, I apologise."
 

 

According to The Tribune, The Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) suspended an employee and issued a statement that an investigation would be launched to find out how this happened.

"The use of the ambulance is in direct contravention of the rules regarding the dispatching and use of emergency vehicles which should be dispatched solely for the purpose of medical transport.

"All EMTs and ambulance drivers are well aware of the rules that govern the engagement of emergency vehicles. The Public Hospitals Authority has undertaken disciplinary action regarding the incident and further action may result following the conclusion of an investigation," said PHA.