Cindy Debardelaben and her family were driving from Memphis to Sevierville when they came up on the crash on Interstate 40 near Charlotte Pike.
"There was medical equipment adn supplies thrown all over the road," Debardelaben described.
Patient, medic killed when ambulance crashes on I-40 East at Charlotte Pike
The equipment came from an ambulance that slid off the road moments earlier. Investigators said the ambulance crashed into a rock wall, ejecting Zachary Pruitt and Nyema Jackson. Pruitt was a medic and Jackson was a patient being transferred to Vanderbilt Medical Center. Both victims died at the hospital.
"We got out of the car and started to see what was happening," Debardelaben said. She said then she rushed to Pruitt's and Jackson's sides
"We just talked to them and tried to comfort them as much we could and said a prayer," Debardelaben said. "They really weren't conscious but we wanted them to know we were there."
"When you're faced with something like that, you just have to take a breath and help wherever you can," Debardelaben added.
She helped until Jackson and Pruitt were taken to the hospital, even grabbing supplies for first responders as they arrived to the scene. Debardelaben didn't find out until later that both victims had died.
"we were just devastated," she said. "I'm glad we were able to be with them and comfort them and for their families to know that they weren't by themselves."
Investigators say excessive speed and wet roads may have played a role in the deadly crash. The ambulance driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She told police she hydroplaned on the interstate.
