Karen Sue Simpson called for an ambulance because she was having trouble breathing. She was stable when crews arrived, didn't need oxygen, and was headed to UofL Health - Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. Instead, the ambulance crashed into a tree at Gagel Avenue and Estate Drive in southwest Louisville on Nov. 17, 2025, and two days later, the 65-year-old retired schoolteacher was dead.
Now Simpson's family has filed a lawsuit against the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Protection District, alleging negligence, wrongful death and other claims tied to the crash, according to WHAS11. The suit was filed Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, on behalf of Simpson's family, with Mary Ramsey identified as Simpson's sister, per the same outlet, which reports it spent two months investigating the crash and obtained documents related to the investigation. Simpson, who had ALS, was initially in stable condition when she was picked up, and the crash caused catastrophic damage to the ambulance and its occupants before she was transported to University of Louisville Hospital, where she died two days later.
Police determined, per the coroner's report, that the ambulance went off the road and struck the tree after the driver swerved to avoid a deer. A coroner's report identified Simpson's cause of death as blunt force injuries from a motor vehicle collision, ruled the manner of death an accident, and listed her ALS symptoms as a complicating factor. A Louisville Metro Police spokesperson said in January that no criminal charges were expected in connection with the crash, according to WHAS11's reporting.
Driver's Speeding History at Center of Lawsuit
With criminal charges off the table, the civil suit has become the family's main avenue for accountability. The lawsuit alleges the ambulance driver had two previous speeding tickets, including one received while employed by PRP Fire, the station's report notes. A person with the same name as the driver also pleaded guilty in June 2024 to driving 25 miles per hour over the speed limit in a personal vehicle, per the same account.
That history matters because of the specific legal standard emergency drivers must meet. Under Kentucky Revised Statute 189.940, ambulance drivers responding with lights and sirens are exempt from standard speed limits, but the law explicitly requires them to operate with due regard for the safety of everyone else on the road, according to Kentucky Law Enforcement. That exemption does not shield drivers from civil liability if due regard is breached, the same source notes — which is the legal opening the Simpson family's lawsuit is built around.
Fire Chief Offered Condolences, Cited Ongoing Investigation
PRP Fire Chief Jason Meiman expressed condolences to Simpson's family and loved ones in December, saying at the time that the incident was under investigation and further details could not be provided. WHAS11 reported it was still waiting for updated comment from two lawyers representing the PRP Fire District as of Oct. 8.
The Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Protection District is not a city agency — it operates as an independent taxing district under Kentucky Revised Statute Chapter 75, governed by a seven-member Board of Trustees, separate from the Louisville Metro Fire Department, according to Louisville Metro Government records. Jefferson County had 21 fire protection districts in 2003, and more than half had dissolved or merged by mid-2021, the same records show. PRP Fire expanded significantly in July 2004 when it absorbed the adjacent South Dixie Fire Protection District, converting those stations into PRP Stations 7 and 8, per Wikipedia.
National Data Shows Driver Error Common in Ambulance Crashes
Simpson's death fits into a broader, troubling pattern in emergency medical transport. A 2023 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study found that 92.6% of investigated ambulance crashes involved operator or driver error, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. That same research found 45.7% of fatal ambulance crashes happened during emergency operations.
Separately, ambulance transport raises broader safety concerns. Those concerns extend to emergency crews and other road users.
A Longtime Educator Remembered
Simpson taught for years in Jefferson County Public Schools, with stops at Crums Lane, Sanders and Medora elementary schools, according to an obituary from Owen Funeral Home. She graduated from Pleasure Ridge Park High School in 1978 and later earned a master's degree from the University of Louisville, tying her personally to the same southwest Louisville community where the crash occurred. Her life was also remembered in an obituary.
The crash happened in southwest Louisville.
For now, the Simpson family's lawsuit against PRP Fire remains in its early stages, with the fire district's legal counsel yet to respond publicly to the allegations regarding the driver's prior record.
