A 77-year-old woman was killed Friday when a Lady Lake man suspected of driving drunk slammed into the ambulance she was riding, police said.

Alice D. Ferriell of Lady Lake was being taken to The Villages Regional Hospital about 2:15 a.m. at the time.

Police already were trying to pull over Scott David Leland, 45, when the southbound Chrysler Voyager he was driving suddenly veered eastward near U.S. Highway 27 at Hermosa Street, said Jim Judge, executive director of Lake-Sumter EMS, which operated the ambulance.

The minivan drove into the path of the ambulance carrying Ferriell, struck its left front, and sent the emergency vehicle spinning into a utility pole, said Judge, who was at the crash scene.

"It was wrapped around the pole," he said.

"The ambulance was absolutely destroyed."

An ambulance driver who happened to be nearby heard the crash and responded to the scene, Judge said.

Alice Ferriell was taken to Leesburg Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

"She hung on for a few hours before she died," Rex Ferriell said.

"My father got to kiss her and hold her hand."

Robert Ferriell had been married to Alice for about 59 years.

Emergency medical technician Matthew C. Booker, who was not wearing a seat belt because he was treating Ferriell, and paramedic Kenneth A. Rodriguez, who was driving the ambulance, were also taken to Leesburg Regional, where they were treated and released.

The ambulance's emergency lights and sirens were off because it was a non-emergency call.

Ambulance drivers for Lake-Sumter EMS each take yearly driving courses, Judge said. Rodriguez did all he could to avoid a crash, Judge said.

"There are just some situations where, whether you're in a personal car or what have you, all of the sudden somebody's coming at you and there's nothing you can do," Judge said.

Leland was being held in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $50,500 on counts of second-offense driving under the influence, a first-degree felony, and driving with a suspended license, a first-degree misdemeanor, jail records show.

He could face more serious charges if an autopsy confirms that Ferriell died as a result of her injuries in the traffic crash, said Lady Lake Police Chief Ed Nathanson.

Leland's blood-alcohol level was not available Friday night.