Union Township sues UNAS over ambulance stripped for parts
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The complaint, coming from Union Township's trustee, says the relationship between Union and UNAS became contentious early this year, leading to the termination of their 2018 contract.
This left ambulance services up to the township, which was to receive one of the two ambulances UNAS had, but when they got their 2015 Ford ambulance vehicle back, it was missing more than $150,000 of equipment needed to operate like an ambulance.
The trustee for North Township, which still has an active contract with UNAS, declined to comment on the lawsuit.
ABC57 also reached out to UNAS, who declined our requests for comment.
Union Township declined to comment for this story, but Union Township Trustee, Kelly Carrico, sent ABC57 the following statement:
"Union Township Trustee and Board Members are in a position that we cannot comment on the pending legal litigation of the case between Union Township v. Union North Ambulance Service, Inc. We will continue to work closely with our legal counsel and await Union North Ambulance Service, Inc.'s reply to the April 17, 2024, complaint that was filed."
But for Lakeville residents, Fire Chief Andy Willett says while they might not have an operational ambulance, they do have full-time paid staff for the first time alongside their volunteers; all trained for medical emergencies.
Chief Willet stated, "I mean it's frustrating because we would like to have the ambulance so we could provide that service, but in reality, we've got good, qualified individuals that are still out there helping the community, serving the community, and, you know, providing the services that we were getting with the ambulance, we just aren't able to do the transport. We have to rely on South Bend or someone else to come in and do that for us."
You can view the initial complaint below as well as the exhibits in the lawsuit.