What happened
The collision happened at the intersection of Highway 7 and Highway 62 in Madoc, shortly after 3 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2026, between an ambulance and a transport truck. The paramedics on board the ambulance were identified as Mya Nichols and Zoraiz Rehman. Nichols was driving and took the full impact of the crash on the driver's side door.
Rehman was able to self-extricate from the wreck, call 911, and check that the occupants of the transport truck were safe, despite being seriously hurt herself or himself. Rehman sustained multiple spinal fractures, internal injuries and severe contusions. Nichols suffered multiple small brain bleeds and needed intensive care monitoring afterward.
Both paramedics were first taken to a local hospital before being airlifted by ORNGE to a trauma centre in the Kingston area for further treatment.
Charges laid
Ontario Provincial Police from the Central Hastings Detachment investigated the crash. Following that investigation, Sajeevarnan Balasubramaniam, 34, of Milton, Ontario, has been charged with six offences: two counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm, two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and two counts of careless driving causing bodily harm.
Balasubramaniam is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville on Oct. 1.
Why it matters here
A crash serious enough to critically injure two paramedics, and severe enough that one had to free herself or himself from the wreckage to help others, is a reminder of the risks on rural stretches of highway that Ottawa drivers pass through regularly.
With charges now laid and a court date set for next month in Belleville, the case moves from investigation to the courts, where the allegations against Balasubramaniam will be tested.
Sources: The Quinteist, insauga, Today's Northumberland
