An ambulance driver struck a patient lying in the road while responding to a call in January, according to the Prince George’s County Fire and EMS department and a police crash report.

       On Jan. 7, the department responded about 5:10 a.m. for the report of “someone lying down on the ground” in the 4500 block of Rena Road in the Forestville area, according to the department.

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       “As our crews were responding to the scene, the patient was struck by the ambulance,” a department spokesperson said in a statement.

       The early morning was snowy and wet and “visibility was poor” from the darkness and high beams of other vehicles, according to crew testimony and dash cam footage, the department said. A Prince George’s County police crash report lists the view as obstructed. The report also said the road was icy or snow covered, and it was dark with "no lights.”

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       The department said the incident, first reported by WUSA Channel 9, was not disclosed at the time of the crash due to its standard operating procedure to “not comment on open investigations."

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       As outlined in the police crash report, an initial investigation found that the ambulance was “in the area searching for a subject” and “the pedestrian was laying in the travel portion of the road.”

       “He was struck about his lower extremities,” the crash report said.

       In a portion of the police report detailing the circumstances of the incident, a field listed “Driver Distracted By” was filled in with a brief description that said, “Looked But Did Not See.”

       According to the department, the ambulance was traveling less than 10 miles per hour at the time of the crash and “there was no indication” the patient had been struck “prior to being flagged down by the 911 caller.”

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       After the crash, crew members provided medical care and other units were called to the scene, the department said. The patient was then taken to a hospital.

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       “Preliminary information from the hospital was that the patient may have suffered a serious medical emergency prior to being struck by the ambulance and the injuries due to the accident are secondary,” the department said in a statement.

       The patient is now in subacute rehab, according to the department.

       The ambulance driver’s drug and alcohol test results were negative following a medical evaluation after the incident, the department said.

       When asked about the driver’s status with the department, a department spokesperson said they could not comment. The incident remains under investigation, the department said.